


How Were You to Know

by marelicarter (padmefuckingamidala), padmefuckingamidala



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, Blood and Violence, Canonical Character Death, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Depression, Everyone Loves Peter Parker, F/M, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Mentioned Skip Westcott, Minor Character Death, Multi, Not an active character but he is mentioned, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Pepper doesn't know, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Pepper Potts, The non-con is because of Skip Westcott and NOT detailed, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony is kind of like a step-dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24377347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padmefuckingamidala/pseuds/marelicarter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/padmefuckingamidala/pseuds/padmefuckingamidala
Summary: Following the death of his aunt and uncle, Peter Parker stays with May's cousin and tries everything he can to feel like he's worthy of living--so he becomes Spider-Man. He's constantly putting himself in danger and doesn't believe that anyone could love him, but his new family might have something to say about that.
Relationships: Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 30
Kudos: 317





	1. Interrupting Pepper Potts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! this was actually something I've been working on for a while but I was afraid no one would be interested in reading it. This first chapter has been sitting finished in my drafts for a month. I hope you guys like it! Feedback is appreciated! Tags will be updated as the story continues, and please stay safe.

May took all the family she could get after her in-laws died and left a three-year-old in their possession. It was a tragedy that put the other Parker’s in a spiral; the couple couldn’t have a kid of their own despite multiple tries, and it was leaving Ben guilty and May frustrated. “It has to be me,” Ben reasoned. “I’ll make an appointment with the doctor, I’ll try to fix it, we’ll have a baby--”

“We don’t need a baby to be happy, Ben,” May reassured him, but the tears were apparent in her eyes. “It’s not just you, either. This isn’t one singular person’s fault, let’s just… let’s just stop and think about it. We’ll both visit a doctor, okay?”

There was no need to. Money wasn’t tight, but it wasn’t exactly enough to cover a pregnancy, birth, and child-raising. They considered saving for adoption until Peter Parker’s adoption file was suddenly theirs. It was like their biggest dream came true at the cost of their worst nightmare. May watched her husband mourn his brother and his brother’s wife. May mourned, too. All Peter knew was that mommy and daddy weren’t coming back.

Toddlers were difficult, but raising a toddler without other family is even more so. Ben’s parents were gone, and May’s weren’t so supportive.

“You should have a baby of your own,” May’s father scoffed. “Ben couldn’t even give you that?”

May glared at her father as her mother ignored Peter’s crying. “We decided not to have one,” May reminded, venom in her voice. “We’re not raising Peter as ours. We’re raising him as our nephew, we’re not trying to erase his parents from his life.”

May’s mother turned to her with a grimace on her face. “Would you shut that boy up?” she demanded. “And don’t talk to your father like that. We just want what’s best for you, May, honey. Are you sure that being a Parker was a wise decision?”

Ben came back from work to see a red-eyed May and Peter playing mega blocks on the floor. He never asked her what was wrong--he didn’t have to. “My parents aren’t helping,” she told him with a sad smile, only grinning like that to keep away more tears. “We’re on our own for this one.”

“Are you okay?”

“I kicked them out. Told them don’t come back.”

“Honey…”

“I got my family right here,” May sniffled. And if she cried at the way Peter gave her a big hug and mumbled, ‘feel better,’ they didn’t mention it.

May’s parents died a month later on a cruise, but it wasn’t like they spoke either way.

The only person from May’s big, distant family was a cousin named Virginia. They called her Pepper and she was the highest educated in the family, a sign of pride in the family’s eyes. Pepper was proud of herself too, to an extent, but when her cousin May reached out with an invite to a toddler’s party, she traded her dress slacks for a pair of jeans and showed up with a gift.

Pepper was the only person from the family to do so, not like there were many in New York anyways. Much of the family was scattered and some were just downright awful and toxic. May severed a lot of ties when she married Ben—her parents didn’t even come to the wedding, but they sure did have many opinions regardless—so she wasn’t holding her breath with Peter’s fourth birthday.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Pepper said as she stepped into the apartment, smiling shyly. “I had a meeting that ran late, I’m really sorry, I had to change and then—“

“You came,” May croaked.

Pepper turned to see May with tears in her eyes, giving a sad smile and a sniffle. “Of course I came. I’m upset I wasn’t invited to the first three, but I’m glad I’m able to be in your life again, May, I really miss you. I’m just so busy it hurts.”

“He’s our nephew,” May explained quietly. She moved quickly to wipe her eyes. “His parents… he’s ours now, so we weren’t in charge of the first three.”

Pepper nodded, unsure of what else to say.

“He’s in the living room with Ben and a friend from Pre-K,” May told her. “I’m sure he’d like to see you. He’s shy but he likes new people.”

Pepper stayed and talked to Mrs. Leed and the Parkers as Ned and Peter played on the floor, oblivious to the sad sight of the party around them. True to May’s word, Peter warmed up to her eventually. He had no problem hugging Mrs. Leeds tight or talking to her, but Pepper was like a test for her. “I like your hair,” Peter told her shyly, looking up at Pepper from the floor. “It’s like Cinderella’s. Aunt May says her hair is strawberry blonde.”

“Strawberry blonde,” Pepper echoed, “I like that. People just tell me it’s red.”

“It’s not,” Peter decided. “It’s too light. Maybe if it got lighter, it would look like Aurora’s.”

“From Sleeping Beauty?” Pepper asked. “That’s one of my favorite movies.”

“Mine too,” Ned said excitedly. “Peter says his favorite is Beauty and the Beast.”

“It is,” Peter said. “It reminds me of my mom. I think if she was a princess, she would be Belle. She spoke French sometimes.”

May and Ben weren’t sure how to handle that. It wasn’t like they told Peter he couldn’t remember his mom, but they didn’t want to make him sad by talking about his parents. He was four, how much could he remember of his folks? She spoke French sometimes? Neither May nor Ben knew that Mary could speak other languages, but could they call him out on that?

Pepper seemed to know what to do, though, as did Mrs. Leeds. “Belle is very beautiful,” Pepper agreed. “I’m sure your mother was, too, Peter.”

Mrs. Leeds nodded in agreement. “Very pretty. What do you think, Ned?”

Ned agreed, too, and the boys continued to play on the floor. May was relieved, and Ben was delighted.

When the night grew dark, Pepper hugged a very happy Peter goodbye, and waited again to hear from her cousin. Since then, Pepper has come every birthday, even if she was late. It became harder when Peter turned seven and Pepper became Tony Stark’s personal assistant. Pepper unfortunately couldn’t make it to the party, but she wasn’t about to quit on what little family she had.

“I’m taking a personal day tomorrow,” she told Tony, firmly.

“Oh?” Tony turned to her, looking up from his Iron Man suits—an unhealthy hobby she’s been watching him participate in for too long—for the first time all morning. “Everything alright?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I had an event to go to yesterday but work apparently ran late. So I’m making it up tomorrow.”

Tony nodded, his gaze flickering away. “Of course. Thank you, Miss Potts, for everything. If an apology gift is needed, you have the card.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” she replied curtly before taking her leave.

The next day, she exchanged her pencil skirt for distressed jeans—though her fashion habit had them paired with a blazer—to take Ned and Peter out for lunch and a trip to the museum. She walked with one boy on either hand and a grin on her face. Peter was quick to ramble off facts about certain things, whether it be art, history, or plants, and Ned joined in where he couldn’t.

“My favorite subject was always ancient Egypt,” Pepper told the boys.

Peter gasped and turned to look at her. “Miss Pepper, that’s Ned’s specialty! You’re so in luck, he can walk you through everything!”

It was tradition. It was something fun Peter looked forward to, as May told her over the phone with such glee. “Thank you, again,” May choked out. “He’s so happy. He and Ned are both counting down the days until Peter’s next birthday so they can hang out with Miss Pepper. They even sat and looked at jobs because Peter wants to treat next time.”

Pepper didn’t let the boys treat her, but she did demand one personal day every month, usually a Saturday, to take Peter and Ned out.

Things grew complicated faster than Pepper expected. Work piled up and Skip happened—a teenage boy that tore innocence away from a child with no regard—and then whatever the fuck with Tony happened. Perhaps romance was not her strong suit but having an entire company thrusted at her was somehow easier. She could handle it. Tony nearly died and their relationship was in an odd limbo, but she loved him nonetheless.

The next time Pepper saw Peter, he was almost like a shell of himself. Emotionless. He usually had a million things to say to Pepper, taking in the rare moment of bliss, but the boy hid behind an Iron Man mask and tinkered with a scrap of tech. Pepper felt like she was at work, like a repeat of the day before.

“Is he okay?” Pepper asked May softly, just low enough for Peter to be oblivious. 

May looked out at the boy she was raising and wondered the same thing. “After Skip, all he wants to be is Iron Man,” she whispered. “First it was Captain America. Then it was Hawkeye, but he had no mask and it freaked him out. So now he’s trying to be Iron Man because he thinks Iron Man’s too brave and too good to be scared.” A sharp breath, and she cracked. “I don’t know what to do, Pep. He’s so miserable and I don’t know how to make it better.”

“It just takes time,” Pepper reassured her. She felt awkward not knowing the whole story. In her head, she just thought Skip had hit him or left him alone too long and Peter got hurt. Never in a million years would he imagine that Skip had… taken advantage of him. May wiped away her tears and Pepper knew better than to ask; she wouldn’t risk bringing up the pain again, like opening a new wound too soon, but she had love and support to give, and she hoped it was enough.

(Pepper took Peter out to lunch and watched as the kid shyly set his mask on the table to drink his milkshake. It was a sign of trust.)

Captain America came back from the ice and shook the world. The Avengers were forming nicely as Peter turned ten, but Pepper’s visits were reduced to once a year, again with the birthday celebration. It was a lot, of course, and Peter felt worse for a little bit. Pepper was busy and he couldn’t get mad, but he plunged himself into self-teachings and self-loathing cycles to be a bright kid, no matter what his inner demons said.

He knew nobody would want him, not after Skip happened. His skin crawled with every memory of Skip pushing him back--and hitting--and taking--and holding his face into the sheets until he couldn’t breathe--he was broken. Aunt May couldn’t bring it up without looking away and Uncle Ben just didn’t know what to think about it. There was no way Peter could mention anything to adults that refused its existence. Peter cried into his pillows until he couldn’t breathe, like Skips’ hands were all over him again, and he hid away with all his shame.

He realized after a field trip that maybe, truly, he didn’t want to die. It was all he dreamed about, dying to escape the pain and memories. A spider bit him and suddenly he was in the hospital being told he was a mystery. “We can’t figure out why he’s sick,” a doctor said. “All we can assume is it’s the flu.”

Twice he almost died. Peter was in and out of consciousness for a little while, pain soaring through his body as May sobbed. It’s all he could hear sometimes, even when he was asleep; May’s sobs were ingrained in his mind after the situation with Skip. Was she crying because he was getting weaker, or was she crying because he was hurt again?

“May,” he croaked, shaking off sleep and the little buzz of pain he felt. 

May’s head shot up. Ben had to work, but May sat with him between shifts and even took some vacation time. Her body was out of her seat and hovering over Peter’s in an instant, warm, trembling hands gently cupping his face. He happily leaned into the touch, and May bit back a sob. “Petey, baby, hey. Hi, honey. Are you--do you need something? How’re you feeling?”

“I don’t want to die,” was all he could say. “I… I don’t want to die. I thought I did, after… S...Sss…”

“It’s okay,” May told him, but he could tell the reality of what he said had struck her heart. “You’re not gonna die, we’re here, baby.” It had been three years since Skip had hurt Peter, but May didn’t think it was crossing his mind like that. Suicidal ideations? This was the first she was hearing of it. She hadn’t been thinking about the lasting effects, how Peter would feel even years after. Three years wasn’t a long time to a child--May felt like a failure staring down at her baby after this confession.

“I’m sorry,” Peter croaked.

“Don’t be,” she cooed. “It’s okay, Pete. Everything is okay.”

After the worst of it died down and he was reduced to a fever and some slight aches—and still labeled as a mystery—they took him home and let him feel sore in his own bed. May cried outside his door; she just slumped for the floor and covered her mouth to keep quiet. Ben found her like that three hours later when he got home from work, and May cried harder.

And then, suddenly, he felt the worst he’d ever felt in his whole life.

Peter Parker was two days away from turning fourteen when he watched a man pull out a gun and aim. Just the way the revolver rubbed against the man’s jacket was too much for his ears; he winced when he should have dove forward with all his strength.

The spider bite did something to him, something that left him stronger, better, faster, and so much more than any human could be. Peter was hungry constantly but his body developed in a way that was powerful. Sure, the new eyesight and the intense hearing was a lot, but he tore his pillow in half while trying to put a fresh pillowcase on--there was something new happening. He could have used that something to stop the man. But he didn’t.

One gunshot left his ears throbbing. Peter panicked as his hearing was dulled, like he was submerged underwater, and he grit his teeth and blinked rapidly until he realized he was no longer being held. Beside him, May was falling to the ground.

Ben yelled something, but it was a muffled hum as he reached for his own gun. Peter sank to his knees. He caught May before he hit the ground and looked up to see Ben, but another muffled sound told him it was too late. Ben staggered; first his gun clattered to the ground, and then he fell over on top of it. Blood was staining his shirt. It looked like the blood staining Peter’s hands.

Peter looked down at May, but he couldn’t register a thing. “May,” he croaked, hands shaking. He pressed his palm over the gash in the middle of her chest and felt something crunch. Did he break her rib? May was already dead, what did it matter? But Peter didn’t know that. He was in hysterics over the whole situation trying his best to be easy as he put pressure on the wound, but he felt another crack and pulled back with a sob.

“They’ll fix it,” he told her, not sure how loud he was. He still couldn’t hear. “M-May, it’s okay, they’ll fix it, I’m so sorry. I know it hurts. It’s okay.”

People were running around him, some speaking to him, but others pulling out their phones. Some called for help. Others recorded his blubbering. 

Ben’s twitching gathered his attention. Peter leaned forward, clutching May’s corpse to his chest as he pleaded with his uncle. “I think they called for help,” he whimpered. “Hold on. I can’t apply pressure, I have to… I have to keep May… Uncle Ben, it’s okay. Please don’t cry, they’ll fix it.”

Ben could only wheeze before him. The other people rushed around and formed a circle. Peter thought he could hear sirens, but he still couldn’t hear people talking. Everything was too faint in his ears.

“It’s okay,” Peter cried, mortified. “Hang on. You’re both okay, it’s okay—“

Ben’s lips moved, but Peter couldn’t hear a thing.

Peter let May’s limp body slouch in his grip as he leaned forward. “I got you, Uncle Ben, I promise. Please. It’s okay.”

His lips continued to move, over and over. They stopped before the police and paramedics arrived on the scene, but Peter didn’t get his hearing back until he was on his way to the hospital, an itchy blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

Peter waited in the waiting room for hours. His legs grow numb and his back hurts from slouching over. Doctors and nurses alike walked by; some offered sad looks, because they knew exactly who he waited there for, but others paid him no attention. One nurse offered him a blanket but Peter looked up, all life drained from his eyes, and said, “I’m just waiting for the discharge papers. I’m sure it won’t be much longer… they’ll be okay.”

“Is there anyone you’d like me to call?” she offered.

Peter shook his head. “I’ll wait for them.”

The nurse tried again, “How about someone to come sit with you? To wait with? Who can I call?”

Peter blinked slowly, not sure what else there was to do. No one could possibly come for him, not now. Ben and May were all he had. Could Mrs. Leeds possibly get here? It was late, though, and she had two kids to look after. Peter didn’t even realize he was talking aloud when he said, “I wish Miss Pepper was here,” and he didn’t notice when the nurse nodded and took off to find the information. All Peter knew was that he was tired and numb.

Midnight rolled around when Peter felt a hand on his shoulder. It felt only like a few more minutes, and he almost expected to see the nurse. Blinking away sleep, he looked up expecting a doctor and found Pepper Potts, almost a stranger, standing before him.

“Hey,” she whispered, “why won’t we get you home? Maybe get some sleep?”

“I’m gonna stay with Ben and May,” he whispered back, though he wasn’t sure why. “I’ll be fine in their room with them. Have you heard from the doctors yet?”

Pepper’s blank face said it all.

Peter nodded, as if he was given the news directly and it wasn’t enough to shatter his earth. “Don’t say it,” he begged her. “Just… give me a minute.”

Pepper understood completely. She felt almost like a stranger, though; she stood in front of Peter wearing an evening gown, and he was so distressed he almost missed the way a wider-set man with a bit of facial hair stood in the corner, eyes flickering around suavely. Peter took a deep breath. “I’m sorry they pulled you from your night, Miss Pepper.”

“It wasn’t that great,” she lied, taking a seat beside him. She noticed Peter had some blood still on his hands--mostly in the cracks and parts that bent, but Peter’s eyes still zoned in on the lines of red. “I’d rather be here with you. It’s been a while since I was able to get away and hang out with you.” When Peter didn’t respond, Pepper felt tears swell in her eyes. May and her weren’t very close, not by any means, but that was the last family member she had. Pepper wanted to cry, but right now, Peter needed support. “Can we get lunch tomorrow?” Pepper asked weakly, trying to blink away the tears and guilt.

“You don’t have to have lunch with me just because my family’s dead, Miss Pepper,” Peter whispered, refusing to look up. “It’s okay to go back to your party.”

“How about we both go somewhere different?” she asked. “I don’t wanna go back to the party. And I want to spend time with you.”

“I think…” He swallowed before continuing. “I think I want to eat a lot of food. And then I want to pass out in the living room. That way when I wake up with a bellyache, I feel that before I feel their deaths.”

They stopped back at Pepper’s townhouse so she could grab a change of clothes, but she still returned to the car in her party dress. Happy dropped them off at the Parkers’ apartment before rushing to the party for a bunch of snacks and sweets for Peter. It was a messy night, but in the end, a very full Peter passed out on the couch, with his head on Pepper’s lap. She woke up the same way with a very sore neck, dozed back off, and when she woke up the second time, she was lying on the same couch, underneath a fuzzy blanket. Peter Parker was nowhere to be seen, but all the food was cleaned up from the floor and everything was returned to its original place.

Pepper showered and changed. She could hear Peter’s footsteps and movements every so often and didn’t want to jump down his throat right away. Instead she paged Happy for food-- “Just put it on Tony’s tab, I’ll look over the bill later”--and stared at her phone. She had to plan everything. A funeral. She had to figure out the apartment. She had to sort out their finances and put those to rest, too. They talked about it briefly when Peter turned eleven. May knew she couldn’t just rely on Ben in case something went wrong.

“Okay, how about this,” Pepper reasoned. “You’re my beneficiary, and I’m yours.”

“Pepper… you’re more important than I am, I could never tie up your life like that, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“You’ll have help, I’ll leave instructions. But I want it to stay with family. Use my money for Peter.”

“I’m not talking about money, Pep.”

Pepper shrugged. “That’s why I want you to be my beneficiary. If anything happens to me, I want you guys to get everything I worked hard for, okay?”

May knew she couldn’t fight it at this point, and they both agreed. The next day, papers were signed and arrangements were made. Pepper knew it meant Peter would be in her custody, too, but she didn’t mind. Even after everything happening with Tony--the relationship that was all over tabloids at this point and made her important enough for little check marks on all her social media pages--she would do anything for the kid. He’d been through enough.

Happy brought the food and set everything on the counter. “I stalked the kid’s social media. Found a little sandwich place, had them make the sandwich. They must know Peter because they realized the order and said they knew exactly how to make it. I got you a turkey and provolone.”

“Weird breakfast,” Pepper tried to joke, “but thank you, Happy.”

“Little too late for breakfast,” he said, setting the bag of hoagies down on the counter. “It’s almost one in the afternoon. Also, Tony had a conniption over your absence, told ‘em you were having family issues.”

Pepper shot up. “I completely forgot! Shit, there was a meeting today too. How’s Tony handling it? He probably didn’t go, I just cost the company--”

“Calm down,” Happy urged, placing a hand on either shoulder. “Pep, breathe. Tony went to the meeting and already apologized on your behalf. FRIDAY said it was very tasteful, she could play it back for you if you wanted.”

Pepper didn’t say anything for a long while. She stared at the bag of sandwiches in front of her and wondered how rocky the next few days would be, let alone the next few weeks. “Okay,” she said after a while with a sigh.

“Okay…?” Happy echoed.

Pepper nodded and got to work. She had a funeral to plan and custody to gain.

It didn’t set in until the funeral for Peter; he stood between Pepper and Happy and stared at the holes in the ground. Ned and his family showed up to offer their condolences, but left to give them their space. Mrs. Leeds had hugged Peter close and told him, “You are always welcome in my house, and you must understand this. Miss Potts is not the only adult in your corner.”

“Thank you,” Peter had whispered, too afraid to raise his voice.

He understood what this all meant. Pepper would either try to keep Peter, or she would give him up. He’d be shoved into foster care and left alone, which was the realistic idea, but he didn’t want it. He was already so alone. Plus, he was supposed to start a new high school. He was supposed to start his future as Ned started his, getting an amazing education at Midtown Tech, but foster care wasn’t going to allow him that privilege. Would Pepper allow that? She would have to pay out of pocket and who would pay expensive tuition for a kid that wasn’t even hers?

Pepper rested a hand on his shoulder like she did in the hospital. “It’s okay,” she whispered, “we’ll get through it, Peter.”

“I don’t know where to go.”

“You can come home with me,” she offered.

Looking down at the graves, he shook his head. It was a polite thing to say to a kid with nowhere else to go, and he knew it. Pepper wouldn’t want a kid like him, one that was too broken and now too useless to save his only family. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Pepper paused and corrected herself. “Peter,” she began softly, “you’re coming home with me. You’re not a burden.”

Pepper had stayed with Peter in the apartment until then, figuring everything out and finalizing the last pieces before taking custody. She knew May and Ben both wanted Pepper to have custody if anything happened to both of them, but she never expected it to happen, especially after they grew apart. Pepper’s job had left her unable to manage her personal life as well as her professional. 

She could have forfeited custody. Nothing stated she had to accept, right? But Pepper took one look at an empty Peter Parker and decided, “I’m keeping him close.”


	2. Blueberries, Angsty Music, & A Suit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is different now. He's sad and listens to angsty music. He's eating blueberries--his favorite--more often, though he isn't sure he deserves a treat. And now, he has a suit and a formula for webs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the feedback! It is greatly appreciated, and I also take requests, so feel free to comment or come say hi on Tumblr (@mareli-carter) even though my Marvel fics there are different. This is kind of my first Peter Parker/non-reader-insert fic. Two birds with one stone!
> 
> Tell me how you like the chapter? :)

Things quickly fell into a routine for the pair, both of which seemed blind to all the problems of the world. Pepper had thought about putting her relationship with Tony on hold, but she felt like it would be selfish. Peter needed normalcy, not coddling, and technically Tony had no idea Pepper was even a parent.

Peter started at Midtown Tech after a belated birthday party, and for a while he seemed okay. Things couldn’t have been better, at least not after the incident, but he wasn’t the same Peter anymore. He wondered if Pepper noticed it. When she signed the adoption papers she wasn’t adopting the little kid that loved to spend the day with her every so often. That version of Peter died as soon as Skip pinned him down and stuck his—

Bad thoughts. Peter blinked them away and stared at the test in front of him. He would never be the smart kid from his childhood. This was a washed up version of what could have been. Peter blinked away the tears and realizations as he filled out the test and stood up. He was the first to turn it in.

Peter submitted the test first, before anyone else. He sat silently at his desk and stared down until the bell rang. Things carried on like this for a while until finally, Peter felt like he had hit rock bottom.

Peter wasn’t sure how to ask. For weeks the thought was on his mind--he played and replayed the imaginary conversation over and over again--about asking for a therapist. Peter knew realistically it was a struggle he didn’t have to carry alone but he also felt like a problem child. Pepper had already done so much for him. Pepper was an incredible woman that juggled being a CEO and a newfound mother like it was nothing.

Asking for therapy would show Pepper he was a problem. Ignoring his problems, however, would only make it worse and would be a greater inconvenience on her. What if he was an inconvenience now? Oh, fuck, he didn’t think about that. He was too much, too annoying, too sad, too--breathe, Peter, breathe.

The world felt like it was crashing down around him. He saw his family die right in front of him, memories of Skip wouldn’t leave him alone, and his new abilities were getting in the way of his recovery. Everything was too bright, everything was too loud, and he was suddenly ridiculously strong, as if nothing weighed more than three pounds to him.

Once, he dropped something and it slid under Pepper’s couch. Without thinking he picked up the couch--thank God Pepper wasn’t home. A wave of realizations came to him that moment, too. The mugger didn’t break May’s ribs that night. He did. Peter snapped them easily when he tried to apply pressure to her wound. He’s had these… these powers for a long while. He was a freak with strength and god knows what other abilities and he couldn’t stop two fucking gunshots. 

After a panic attack, Peter shut himself in his room and ignored Pepper’s calls to dinner when she came home. He ended up feeling horrible about it, of course, but it only led to more tears.

Ned began to notice it, too. Peter was withdrawn and absent-minded for most of the school day, but his grades never suffered. Never. Pepper was paying a lot of money for him to be at Midtown with his friend (singular, as usual) and Peter wasn’t going to be ungrateful. Sure, he pulled away from all of his extracurriculars except for Decathlon, and maybe some days he felt like he was passing his breaking point, but he was surviving, and that was all he had to do. He owed it to Pepper to do the bare minimum and stay out of the way.

Ned, however, didn’t think that. “Hey.” He stopped at Peter’s locker after school and looked at him with a faux-calm expression. “So, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go over the music for band? I didn’t see you there today and I was wondering if, um--”

Peter shook his head without meeting his friend’s gaze. “I dropped band,” he murmured.

“Dude.”

“What?” Peter still didn’t face him; he stuffed books into his bag and grabbed his headphones, but Ned could see the way his shoulders grew closer to his ears.

“You liked band,” Ned said softly. “I mean, it wasn’t strings like you wanted, but it was still fun. Cheaper to rent a trumpet than a cello.”

Peter finally looked at Ned with a fragile expression. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m cutting down on costs.”

“Costs? Pete--”

“I don’t want Pepper to waste her money on me,” he said quietly. At this point, he was done in his locker, closing it and slinging his bookbag over his shoulders. “She’s already paying the tuition here, and I can’t take anymore from her. I just gotta relax until I’m out of her hair.”

Ned blinked at the confession, but it wasn’t like he’d understand as well. Actually, no--don’t get him wrong, Ned was amazing, but Ned was also financially stable for all his life. He’d never know the money struggle, and Peter couldn’t fairly blame Ned for that. Ned was an amazing friend--he tried his best to understand. Peter’s struggles weren’t his problem.

“Dude,” Ned echoed, “you should have told me. I could have had mom pay for it or something. You love band, it’s not fair for you to sacrifice everything. You already pulled out of robotics.”

“Pepper made sure her Wednesdays don’t run long,” Peter pointed out. “Those are days she likes to see me, I couldn’t just bail on her because of robotics.”

Ned knew Peter was selfless and would have sacrificed anything for anyone in a heartbeat. Peter had done it before in the past, almost thoughtlessly, so why would now be any different? Especially with Pepper? Ned also knew that Pepper was a great woman but they hadn’t seen much of her in the past couple years. He worried about his best friend adjusting to this new life with a family member that was practically a stranger. “So what now? You’re just doing AcaDec on Tuesdays and calling it quits?”

Peter shrugged, and as he walked, Ned followed with his own backpack and books. “Yeah, pretty much,” he said as if it didn’t pain him. “AcaDec’s the cheapest and Pepper thinks it’s great, so it was a safe option. I’ll figure out the rest.”

“She’s a nice lady though!” Ned argued lightly. “Just tell her things, she’ll work with you. She loves you.”

“But she didn’t ask to be stuck with me,” Peter pointed out, and at the same moment, Flash walked by with a grin and a shoulder bump. The contact felt like sandpaper and made his skin crawl, but all Peter could do was turn his head over his shoulder and watch the other kid smirk.

“No one would wanna be stuck with Penis Parker,” he snorted. 

Peter turned back and gestured to Ned as if that proved his point. 

Ned pulled on Peter’s backpack to slow him down. “Peter, wait. This isn’t okay. You’re obviously hurting and you need to let someone help you.”

Maybe that’s how the idea of Spider-Man came to be. To quote some angsty song from one of his old-ass playlists, “The truth never set me free, so I’ll do it myself.” Okay, so maybe it was edgy and it was derived from some bible verse that Peter didn’t know and didn’t care to learn, but it was still something he clung to. Peter needed saving, but he didn’t want to be a burden. To be saved, someone must be there to help and pick up the pieces. 

And Pepper was more than willing! She was amazing, honest, and compassionate. She would gladly pick up Peter’s broken pieces and help him fix them but he would never ask that of her. Instead, he would pick up as many pieces as he could until they were his own. The idea came to him while he was walking home from Ned’s at night. Pepper asked if he needed a ride, but he lied and said he had one, and he would be home late. His hood was up and his ears were filled with the same lyrics.

The truth never set me free,  
The truth never set me free.  
The truth never set me free,  
So I’ll do it myself.

And then yelling. Right as the music grew soft, building up to the final chorus, what should have been an explosion of drums and lyrical genius--sue him, it was a good song--he could hear a woman yelling. 

“Get off of me,” he heard her yell, and when he looked, he saw a mother pressed against the side of a building with a frightened adolescent watching helplessly. “Please! Not in front of my kid, please--”

“Quiet, bitch,” the unwelcome man fired back. “You want that fucking baby to get something too? You better just drop to those knees real quick, honey.”

Peter tore out his earbuds just as the drums kicked in. He could feel them vibrate against his fingertips as he walked towards the situation with a stealthy bounce in his step--he felt like a ballerina. The man didn’t see anything.

As the kid cried, the mother pleaded and was pushed slowly to her knees. She wasn’t exactly young, but she wasn’t old either. Her hair wasn’t gray but it was pulled up and there were little lines around her mouth and eyes from age. She was beautiful, too. The black sneakers and jeans paired with the little apron her kid clutched told Peter she was a hard working mom, probably pinching pennies and doing her best to survive. He remembered seeing pictures of May waiting tables. She worked at the little mom and pop diner a block from the apartment to put herself through school, but that was way before Peter was born.

“Please,” the mom begged, and the kid was breathing heavier out of fear.

Peter kept walking until he almost passed them, reaching a hand out to grab the man’s arm and pull.

The man turned with narrowed eyes and was ready to strike, but Peter clenched his fist and snapped a bone.

The kid covered his ears quickly at the sound and the mother gasped. The man, however, yelled. “Jesus fuck,” he shouted, body jerking in response. “What the fuck did you do to my arm? What the fuck--”

Peter almost felt drunk with power, watching as the man that was so certain and willing to hurt someone was cowering before him. Is this what Peter looked like to Skip? Is this what it was like when dictators abused a whole nation? “You wanna know what I did?” Peter demanded. “I just caught you trying to assault a woman.”

“Get the fuck off me, man,” he spat, kicking at Peter.

In response, Peter twisted his arm behind him and watched as the man spun around with the momentum. The mother could only watch in awe and confusion as Peter pushed him to his knees and twisted the arm too far back to dislocate it. “Tell her you’re sorry,” he ordered.

“Fuck you!”

One tug at the dislocated arm and the man yelped. “Now,” Peter hissed, “I could drag you to the nearest police precinct. Or you could apologize to this woman and get lost.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Or maybe I’ve been there before,” Peter said without emotion. “You gonna pick or will I get to screw up the other arm too?”

The man groaned in pain through clenched teeth before finally biting out, “I’m sorry.”

Peter turned around before shoving him forward, watching as he scrambled to his feet and ran off. Once he was gone, he turned to the mother and child, both frozen in fear. He decided to address the child. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said softly. “Are you hurt?”

The kid could only shake his head.

Peter turned towards the mother. “Hey,” he said softly, “let me walk you two home. I think that was enough excitement for a night.”

The mother pushed herself to her feet and instead hugged Peter with a breathless sob.

Their walk-home conversation was heavy with thank you’s and a lot of, “you’re just a kid!” Peter nodded along with it, because yeah, he was. He was a kid that had to see all too soon how ugly the world was. He gave the little boy a piggyback ride up to their doorstep and then, Peter said farewell to a thankful, teary-eyed, and very concerned mother. 

“Take care of yourself, Parker,” she called after him, and even the little boy came to say a sleepy thank you before he left.

So he clearly had the strength. The waitress never told a soul about the kid with the strength to snap a man’s arm and cause bone damage, but she didn’t have to. It wasn't her story to tell, and the kid himself felt horrible enough about it. He thought about the spider that bit him and wondered what else he had to offer.

And then, within three weeks, Peter had an embarrassing “suit” and a formula for webs. He continued to pull himself away from life and friends, and any other human that didn’t hate him, to feel alive by saving people. Ned worried about his friend and MJ, who sat at the opposite end of the table, snuck glances here and there out of curiosity. Peter Parker was becoming a shell of himself.

He was practically like a ticking time bomb. He sat at the island in the kitchen, eating a bowl of blueberries as he worked hard on his homework. It wasn’t due for another three weeks but Peter had finished everything else at that point. He was caught up on all work and essays for the next few weeks because his mind wouldn’t stop moving and terrorizing him. The more he worked, the less he thought. The less he thought, the less he remembered Skip and the way May’s ribs crushed under his trembling hands.

The blueberries were a nice focal point. Fresh fruit and vegetables were expensive so they weren’t always available around the apartment. May and Ben did what they could but it wasn’t abundant. Pepper, though, didn’t blink when Peter asked for blueberries. She had simply said, “Get whatever you want. Healthy snacks are important.” Those were his absolute favorites, and it was the one luxury he allowed himself to indulge in

He didn’t even hear Pepper come in, but he looked up and saw her smiling face as she let her hair down from its ponytail. “Hey, Einstein,” she greeted, setting her purse on the island top beside him and opening the fridge. “You were so busy with work--”

“Don’t call me that.”

He clasped his hand over his mouth as soon as it came out. The bite in his tone was shocking but he couldn’t do anything about it, too lost in the confusion and hurt that clouded Pepper’s face. Peter wanted to apologize. A sorry was right on the tip of his tongue. An open mouth said nothing, though, and he panicked once he realized nothing was coming out.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she murmured. The fridge was closed without her grabbing what she came for, but it didn’t matter anymore; she turned her attention to Peter with soft eyes. “Is everything okay?”

Peter’s gaze snapped back down to his homework in lieu of an answer.

“Peter,” she said softly, “hey, talk to me. I won’t call you that anymore.”

He didn’t know what to say.

Pepper waited, but the silence wasn’t helping. “Does it have something to do with Skip?”

As soon as his name was said, Peter made a wheezing sound, like all the air was being knocked from his lungs. His head snapped back up as he prepared to apologize but Pepper wasn’t angry--instead, she had a sorry look on her face and moved to reach for Peter’s hand. “You’re not supposed t-t-to know,” he croaked. He failed to pull his hand back but Pepper caught his hesitation, and opted to stand closer rather than touch him.

“Peter,” she murmured, “I don’t know anything about the situation, I promise. All I know is that Skip hurt you. May or Ben didn’t tell me anything.”

“I don’t want you to know,” he cried. “I d-don’t want you to know and think I’m bad, o-or I’m broken and I…” I don’t want you to give me away. The sentence was choked off out of fear and realization all the same. Pepper could have given him up if she knew how dirty he was. No one wanted a bad kid, a broken person. He sucked in a breath but it didn’t stay long.

“You’re not bad or broken,” Pepper told him firmly, her voice still gentle. “Don’t say that about yourself, okay? Peter you are an amazing person. Whatever happened with Skip isn’t your fault, and I could never hold that blame on you, okay?”

Peter nodded weakly, though he wasn’t sure he believed it. “O-o-okay.”

Pepper shook her head with a sad, small smile. “You don’t believe it,” she sighed. “Pete. I love you, okay? I know there have been a lot of changes but I’m still the same Pepper that loved you when you were little, and I’m still going to be the Pepper that loves you now. You’re stuck with me, kid. You can tell me anything and it won’t change that I love you.”

It should have been a step towards a better life, one where Peter didn’t cry himself to sleep and wish he died with his aunt and uncle. Her words should have struck a nerve and made him realize how much he was loved. Sure, old habits die hard, but this wasn’t a new idea. Peter was loved. Brilliant, love-able Peter Parker was worthy of a good life, no matter how often he decided he didn’t.

“I don’t like to be called Einstein,” he told her. “I don’t like to be touched on the shoulders. Every time something goes wrong I pretend I’m seven-years-old and sitting in the museum cafe with you and Ned because that’s the last happy memory I have before everything went wrong and--I feel like a psychopath just saying this out loud.”

Pepper reached for Peter’s hand and squeezed it anyways. “Don’t,” she blurted out. “Thank you for telling me this. Really, Peter, I’m thankful you’re opening up to me. We can work better that way.”

“I don’t want to tell you what Skip did.”

“Tell me when you’re ready,” she said. “As long as you’re safe.”

“Can I… dance around the subject?” he asked. He focused on her hand and squeezed it back. “I just. Um. I would feel better if maybe I could say some things? Maybe to control the situation?”

Pepper nodded. “Of course.” It killed her, though. She wanted to know what happened so she could make the situation better, so she could dry his tears and protect him like she was supposed to. But she knew Peter was doing his best and wanting to be in control of a situation is normal, so she just nodded again and waited for him to speak.

Peter sighed, and he couldn’t fight the tears that swelled up in his eyes. “Cool. Um.” He took a deep breath and stared intently at her fingers, laced through his trembling ones. “We never reported what Skip did to the police because I was too afraid. I know Ben and May were stressed about it all the time. I’m afraid I’m going to see him in the street and I won’t be able to get rid of him because he technically didn’t do anything wrong, at least not on paper, and--”

“Breathe, Peter,” she whispered. “Look at me. I will get rid of him if you ever run into him. I don’t care if he isn’t even talking to you. If we see him anywhere and you point him out, I will get him as far away from you as possible.”

“But what if he’s close?” Peter asked helplessly. “I dream about it all the time. I’m having the time of my life and suddenly, I’m trapped in a room with him, and everyone loves him. Everyone in my dream thinks he’s amazing, and I’m a burden for wanting him gone.”

“Then we’ll come up with a code,” she reassured. She moves to stand beside him rather than across from him, pulling him close to her and kissing the top of his head. “A phrase, something. You say it to me and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

“But what if you’re busy?”

“I’m never too busy for you.”

“But one day, you might me,” he tried to reason. “You’ll be busy with work or something and I’ll see him. I’m so angry that I can’t handle this myself.”

Pepper didn’t want to argue. She just hugged him close and pressed kisses to his hair as he sat there, almost lifelessly, but very miserably in her arms.

Pepper began to watch Peter more carefully, taking him in as if he was Natasha, a trained spy, and not some simple business woman. After enough time she began to notice it too—not the same ideas Peter thought she would, but she saw how distant Peter had become. After decathlon, he was quiet and reserved, tinkering with little projects until he decided to go to bed. She thought that after his little outburst about Skip, curse that fucker wherever he was, that things would be okay. Peter was a shell of a human, and Pepper was a horrible guardian.

It tore into her constantly. She would be working and tears would prick her eyes at the thought of little Peter, alone after the death of his family. Was she even doing anything right? Was he okay? Oh, God, was this her fault? She didn’t realize she was shaking until she saw herself in the reflection of Tony’s glass doors, signaling she was at his lab. 

Blinking, she walked in with red-rimmed eyes and gave a soft smile, one that was supposed to hide every fear she carried with her.

“How’s my wonderful CEO feeling?” Tony asked, not bothering to glance up from his work.

She couldn’t say anything for a moment, but Tony still didn’t look up. What was she doing? Sure, they were dating, but he didn’t know about Peter. He had no idea Pepper was basically a mother, and sometimes she worried that it would tear her relationship apart. 

When she didn’t answer, Tony turned to look at her. “Pepper? Did you need something?”

She couldn’t do this, not now, oh God she was helpless. “Nothing,” she said with a crack in her voice, turning to let herself out.

It gathered Tony’s attention quickly. “Hey, hey,” he called out as he rose to his feet. The pliers he held clattered to the work table and his stool wobbled behind him as he moved so quickly. His hands grabbed her shoulders so gently it was the last straw; her face scrunched as she began to cry. “It’s okay,” he cooed. “You can talk to me, Pep, I’m sorry. You’re okay, I’m here, I promise.”

It was a weight off her chest, but she felt bad that she waited until Wednesday to cry in his arms. She didn’t tell him about Peter, of course--she still hadn’t talked to Peter about seeing anyone. Wednesdays were her days with Peter, her early days, and now she was settled into Tony’s arms and staring at a clock that reminded her she was not fit to take care of someone as lovely as Peter.

“I’m seeing someone,” Pepper told him over dinner. It wasn’t much of a dinner; she came home late and promised to order takeout, apologies spewing like crazy, but Peter just looked up at her with his hands holding onto a roasting pan for dear life. He attempted to make a stuffed chicken, like his Uncle Ben used to, and he didn’t do too bad. Pepper’s house wasn’t as filled with cooking things as he would have liked, but he wouldn’t ask for anything non-essential. 

The worst thing was that Pepper didn’t even know Peter liked to cook. Pepper wasn’t adventurous in the kitchen by any means, without many of the fancy cooking utensils, but she didn’t need to be. Half the time she made a salad and went about her day. Salads were easy to do on a quick notice. Plus, she could have made lunch at the tower, Tony would have boughten so much food for her.

But now, at the table, it was calmer. Pepper’s eyes weren’t as red from her crying earlier, and Peter’s shoulder wasn’t as sore from stopping a car crash earlier. Plus, the dinner was lovely. Peter helped himself to more chicken and waited. “Oh, really? That’s great.”

“He’s really sweet,” Pepper agreed. She chewed another bite before continuing, waiting for Peter to say something. He didn’t. Other than a glance towards her, he had almost nothing to say, which worried her a little too much. “I want to keep you up to date about everything, though,” Pepper continued. “You’re a part of my life and I want you to know things, and I want you to be able to talk to me about anything.”

Peter appreciated it, but wondered if she was just saying that to seem nice. “I’m not in the way, am I?” he blurted out before he could bite his tongue.

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind, I’m sorry—“

“Peter.”

“—I know I shouldn’t bring it up and I’m grateful, I really am, but—“

“Peter.”

“—I worry I’m too much and I’ll be out of your hair in a few years anyways so you can be happy—“

“Pete,” she said, firm and almost harshly. When he looked at her though, her face was soft and her eyes were gentle, as if he didn’t just fuck everything up. “You’re not a burden. You’re not something I have to put up with. You’re my…. kid. Okay? I love you. Even if I’m still just the distant cousin saw on birthdays. I love you, as you’re my family.”

Peter nodded as he felt a tear trickle down his cheek. Reflexively, his hand shot up to wipe it. He didn’t even know he was crying, but he certainly didn’t want to start another problem here, and Pepper was waiting in a response. “Is it… it’s Tony Stark you’re dating, right?”

Pepper pondered her words. The whole world knew the answer already, so why was she thinking about it? “Yes,” she said slowly. “We’ve been off and on for a while. I love him—a lot. I think we’re more serious than what I made it seem.”

Peter nodded again, but this time he kept the tears at bay, and he felt them stinging along his waterline. “Oh,” he mumbled. “I’m… I don’t want to mess that up for you.”

“You won’t,” she argued lightly. “Peter, you’re brilliant. You won’t mess up anything, okay?”

“But you said you’re serious,” he pointed out. “I’m going to come out of nowhere and surprise him, and he might not like that. I’m sure the last thing a guy wants is a dumb step-kid, and I don’t want to ruin your life anymore.”

Pepper shoved herself back from the table and stood from her seat so quickly and harshly that Peter flinched, and all he could think of was how Skip attacked him after he refused him. Before Peter could beg forgiveness, Pepper had her arms wrapped around him. An embrace. He flinched again at contact and tears escaped his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Pepper just held the boy close and nuzzled into his hair. “You’re amazing, Peter,” she murmured. “You’re so kind, thoughtful, and wonderful. If Tony doesn’t want to deal with you, then I’ll quit and cut him off.”

The threat was too much to imagine, and he jerked back at the thought, sucking in a breath and shuttering a sob as Pepper continued to hold him close. “Y-you can’t!” he sobbed. “You should be happy! I’ll run away, I’ll make sure you can’t throw anything away for me!”

“Peter,” she said softly, almost as a warning.

“I’d rather die than watch you give up your life.”

“Peter.”

“You love your job,” he continued, ignoring her completely. Truthfully, he didn’t realize the severity of his threat. “You c-can’t throw that away for me, Pep, please. Please don’t.”

Pepper felt her own eyes water as she felt Peter shake in her arms. “Peter, it's my job to take care of you.”

“But you didn’t ask to be stuck with me!”

“I would have taken you in either way.”

“I’m not worth it,” Peter promised her, but he still curled into her embrace. “I’m wasting your time and I feel so out of place—I’m not a constant. I’m not important, not like your relationship with Tony.”

“Peter…”

He didn’t say anything else. He just cried in her arms as she cried into his hair.


	3. All Seven Dissertations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a nightmare and joins Pepper for a day at the tower. Not only does he get to meet Pepper's boyfriend and his hero, but he gets to meet the greatest scientist of all time.

It was one of those mornings; Peter woke up gasping for air, the feeling of a hand around his throat and a soreness in his legs. He bit back a cry for help and lurched up to sit, but the damage was done. His day would already be heavy with that burden. The only solution would be to lie back down and try again tomorrow, but he couldn’t ask Pepper to waste more time on him. She would ask questions, then she’d have to call the school so he could stay home, then she’d probably offer to stay home with, and Peter didn’t want to be more of a burden than he already was.

His eyes were still sore from the heart-to-heart Pepper forced, after he cried and apologized for being a waste of space. Life was getting harder to deal with and that wasn’t fair to Pepper. Peter knew he needed to be better. It was just so fucking hard running on empty all the time. Having Pepper hold him and run her fingers through his hair was something so peaceful he craved it all the time. He thought maybe, just maybe, if he cried hard enough right now, she would sit on his bed and hold him again, her fingernails pressing just right against his scalp.

A blaring alarm on his phone signaled he should get out of bed, but his body wasn’t listening. He hit snooze twice, and then couldn’t fight it anymore. He turned off the alarm and realized he’d have to either get up and carry on with his day, or he’d need to explain himself to Pepper.

Luckily, fate had different plans for him. A soft knock at his door warned him before Pepper opened it and peered through the crack. “Hey,” she greeted softly, pushing it open further to step into the room. She closed the door behind her and padded over to his bed, sitting down beside him. “You okay?”

“Mhmm,” he lied.

Pepper nodded slightly, not exactly believing him, but not daring to call him out. “I had a weird question for you.”

“Hmm?”

Her hand found his hair, like it was second nature. The gesture was so peaceful to him that he melted into her touch, and for a moment, his nightmares disappeared. “I wondered if you wanted to skip school today?” She paused, as if waiting for an answer, but his eyebrows drew together in confusion and prompted her to continue. “I just… I don’t get to see you a lot, and it’s a slower day at the office. I figured you could tag along. You can do your school work in my office and it’ll be fun, I’m sure lunch will be great, we can order out.”

Peter didn’t want to do anything other than sit in his bed and stare at the wall. He hated to admit it, but it was nice living with Pepper. The change in scenery helped. When he woke up from a nightmare about Skip, opening his eyes to a new room was nice rather than the scene of the crime. 

However, Pepper looked so sweet and comforting, her eyes gentle and still red from crying as she looked down at him and played with his hair. For the first time since May and Ben’s death, he was starting to feel like he had a home.

“I finished all my work for the week already,” he told her, almost shyly. It was the truth, too. When he wasn’t out being Spider-Man, he had his nose in his school work and strove to be the best he could be, a proof that Pepper wasn’t wasting her money. “I don’t think I have anything to wear, either.” He didn’t want to wear his suit from the funeral, either. It was probably wrinkled anyways; he had stuffed it in a box and slammed it into the back of his closet.

“Just look presentable,” she told him. A smile blossomed over her face at his words, realizing he would tag along with her. “Jeans are fine as long as they don’t have rips. I know you have a nice shirt in there somewhere.”

Peter was still a bit sluggish, but Pepper didn’t rush him as he got ready. He wore his nicest jeans--dark wash, somehow hole-less--and a blue sweater with a collared shirt underneath it. It was one of his favorites because there were elbow patches, something that May always said were sophisticated and scholarly. He traded his ratty sneakers for a pair of brown oxfords. 

They were an accidental purchase by Happy; he thought he grabbed the black ones because they were for the funeral, but instead of returning them, Happy told Peter to keep them. “They’re sharp shoes, kid,” Happy said. “Plus they were having a good sale. You never know when you’ll need to look good.”

In the end, the only problem was his hair. It wasn’t too long but it was growing out, and some of the curls were starting to show. Pepper admired it, he could tell--she found herself playing with his hair and poking through the curls when she talked to him. It was something motherly that Peter would never argue about. Of course, it didn’t happen often, but when it did it was like Peter felt safe.

“You look good,” Pepper told him, grabbing her purse and keys. “See? That’s an outfit of someone fit to shadow a CEO for a day.”

She must have decided to match him today, or at least tried to hold back on looking too professional, because she wore a pair of ankle slacks and a nice blouse. She still, of course, wore her heels because she was Pepper fucking Potts. Her usual ponytail was left behind as she let her hair hang down past her shoulders, a slight wave in the ginger strands. 

While the ride was quiet, their walk into the tower was something Pepper wanted to remember forever. Pepper stepped into the tower with Peter at her side, feeling younger and happier than she had for a while. She watched as Peter’s face filled with wonder and amazement, just like it would when she took him and Ned out for his birthday. Everything was amazing to him, something to behold. Even people, ordinary and sharply dressed, were something of interest to Peter, who watched everyone walk by with a smile. 

When Peter was younger and afraid he’d never get rid of the terrible memories, he dreamed of being a superhero. First he was Captain America, but that didn’t feel right. Hawkeye was next on his list but there was no mask, nowhere to hide his fears, and he cried in the toy aisle of Target, clutching the toy arrows as a man with platinum blond hair walked by.

So Iron Man it was. May spent the extra ten dollars on a nicer set, including a red and gold mask and a couple of repulsor gloves. Peter wore them everywhere. He wore them absolutely everywhere, even to lunch with Pepper until he realized he could trust her, and he set it on the table to drink his milkshake. 

“G’morning, Miss Potts,” a man in slacks and a button-down said as he waved. He approached the duo with a grin and a Stark Pad in his grip, though he eyed Peter curiously. “Is this a new intern?”

“No, this is…” She glanced around Peter, who was still wonderstruck, and danced around the words. Peter Parker. Cousin’s nephew? Wouldn’t that make them distant cousins? How removed was he? She was never good at remembering those things, but maybe it was weird to call him her son. As far as employees were concerned, she had no family. Pepper Potts may have been a private woman, but she wasn’t closed off completely. She gave in eventually. “...my kid. This is Peter.”

“Peter Potts,” the man guessed, looking down at his device. For what, Peter didn’t know, but he looked back at him with a grin.

Peter shook his head, but extended his hand to shake. “Peter Parker,” he corrected. “Nice to meet you.”

“Lincoln,” the man said, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a son, Miss Potts. The interns already went on their coffee run, I can call them and add Peter’s order to the list.”

“That’s okay,” Peter said quickly. “I’m not one for coffee. Thank you, though.”

Lincoln left with a goodbye and Pepper was relieved to know she could call Peter her kid without upsetting him. He could have ignored it just to be polite, but Peter’s face often betrayed him when lying. Instead of a crinkled nose and a twisted frown, he grinned and continued to look around with wonder. 

The two stepped into an elevator and were met with greetings. “Good morning, Miss Potts. I’m afraid your guest doesn’t have the clearance for the offices. What would you like me to do?”

“Good morning, FRI. I want Peter to have full clearances,” Pepper replied. “He’ll be with me the whole day if you could get started on that.”

“Right away,” the voice said. The elevator began to move, and Peter could barely contain his excitement.

Peter’s face lit up more, if it was possible. “What?” he squeaked, looking around the elevator with an amazed laugh. “Was that an AI?”

“Indeed, I am,” the voice replied. “I’m FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s personal AI. Please state your full name, and I’ll begin the checks and clearances.”

“Peter Benjamin Parker,” he said clearly.

“Hello, Mr. Parker,” FRIDAY greeted. “I’ll run a background check and issue clearances right away. Miss Potts, should I have an intern bring Mr. Parker’s badge to your office when it's finished?”

“Yes, FRIDAY, thank you.”

When the elevator stopped, Pepper stepped off and Peter followed suit. The day was filled with a lot of wonder and sightseeing, something Pepper loved to see. The look of joy on his face had been missing for so long that now, it was beautiful, something to behold. She’d never get tired of it.

There were a few tasks for her to take care of, which left Peter kind of looking around the office and standing outside of it, leaving the door cracked a bit for privacy. Peter was perfectly content, though, talking to FRIDAY like a personal friend.

“Do you have feelings?” Pepper heard Peter ask. She set her phone down slowly, as to not make a sound, and listened in.

“I don’t believe so,” FRIDAY answered. “I am, however, programmed to respond like a human and interpret emotions.”

“That’s cool,” Peter said, poking at one of the office plants. “Doesn’t anyone ask you how you’re doing today?”

“Occasionally, Boss will ask. But my answer is always the same--I’m doing fine.”

“Oh.” Peter’s fingers fell still on the leaf of a plant, quite pensive. “Well, okay.”

“How are you doing today, Mr. Parker?”

Peter grinned to himself. “You can just call me Peter, no need for formalities.”

“Alright, Peter. But my question still stands.”

He hesitated before answering, “I’m going okay.”

“Glad to hear.”

Pepper decided all her other work could wait. It wasn’t much, anyway, and Tony could have probably taken one of those calls. She poked her head out of the door and said to Peter, “How about a tour? I know you’re dying to see the rest of the tower.”

The meeting rooms were luxurious, the cafeteria was clean and fragrant with delicious options, and the gym was, sadly, empty. “Does Thor ever visit?” Peter asked almost too excitedly. “Is he here right now?”

“I’m afraid not,” she told Peter. “Captain Rogers and Natasha are out on a mission, and I think Clint is… well, I don’t know where. Not here. Thor hasn’t been around for a few weeks at least, but I’m sure you’ll get to meet him sometime.”

And with that, the tour continued. There were plenty of labs to see, some production sites, but the intern labs were what caught Peter’s attention the most. There was a dull buzz in the back of his head, a warning of danger, but when he looked around there was nothing. Instead of any problems, Peter saw Pepper’s pleased face, and he decided everything was okay.

Pepper spoke as she led him through the lab, through the work tables crowded with different tools, equipment, and notebooks. “We try to keep them divided based on their area of specialty, but sometimes their projects overlap and it’s easy just to lump them together…”

There was a lot. A strange feeling of anxiety washed over him, alerting him of some threat he had yet to see, but it was hard to focus with so much happening in the lab 

Peter looked and tried to listen as Pepper spoke, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood alert and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from a fumbling intern. He looked older, mostly tired, and slumped in his seat as he began to mix chemicals. 

“...but I guess someone else could explain it better than I can,” Pepper laughed, walking along. “Our interns are given certain production tasks as well as some creative freedom.”

Peter couldn’t hold off anymore. He heard the elevator ding, an announcement of someone’s presence, but he couldn’t think of the repercussions at the time. He saw a huge red flag and dove for it. He grabbed the beaker from the intern and held it out of his reach. “You grabbed the wrong solution!” he blurted out.

The intern looked up and almost rolled his eyes, clearly not too pleased. “Hey, if you’re with a middle school tour then you’re not supposed to be here.”

“It won’t be a stable reaction,” Peter explained. “I watched you measure it, and I-I-I don’t, um, think you’re thinking clearly. You could cause a mini-explosion--”

“Who even are you?” the intern demanded, unimpressed. “Give that back.”

“It’s not the right mixture,” Peter said. He didn’t mean any disrespect, but he also wasn’t looking forward to a confrontation or a bigger issue.

Angrily, the intern set his other tool down and shoved his notebook towards Peter. “Look,” he barked, “that’s my work if you think you’re smart. Let me know if you need help understanding any of it.”

He gave it a glance over and looked back up at the grouchy intern, almost embarrassed at the situation as a whole, but not because Peter was wrong--it was because the intern was. “This formula isn’t correct,” Peter said.

“Excuse me?” the intern demanded. “Who do you think you are? You’re like, twelve, what the hell could you possibly know about--”

“Alright, alright,” a different voice drawled out, almost theatrical itself. The notebook was grabbed by a new set of hands, and Peter was suddenly standing beside Tony Stark himself. Peter almost jumped at the realization--he was standing next to Tony Stark, Ph.D., arguing about chemistry with one of his interns. 

“Mr. Stark,” the intern began, only to be cut off by Peter.

“He’s actually a doctor,” Peter blurted out, not helping his case at all.

The intern flared at Peter, grabbing his notebook with an attitude that could have killed. “Dr. Stark,” he began again, seething, “this kid just burst into the labs unattended and started ruining my workstation.”

Peter didn’t see Pepper’s eyes grow wide and the way she opened her mouth to argue, but he didn’t need to. He cut her off before she got the chance. “Excuse me,” he said pointedly, “I’m not unattended. My guardian is present, thank you. And I did not tamper with your work at all, I just told you, you were going to make a mistake. You were trying to pour this beaker—” Peter held up the glass in his hand “—into this one, which would blow up the lab because not only are your proportions wrong but so is your compound.”

Not liking Peter’s tone, the intern’s voice grew louder. “Mr. Stark! This kid shouldn’t even be here anyway! He isn’t possibly smart enough for this level of chemistry, let alone on the level of the company.”

Tony motioned to the intern for the notebook and looked over the work. Peter stood there silently, waiting, a flustered pink growing on his cheeks and ears. It took an excruciatingly long minute before Tony handed the notebook back to the intern and said, “He’s right.”

The intern grew smug and looked at Peter with an insult, but Tony took off his sunglasses and tucked the one arm into his shirt, letting them rest on his collar. He had a black eye, from only god knew what, but there was still spirit in his voice. “The kid, Mr. Cranky. The kid is correct. Everything on that paper is wrong and that’s surprising, considering it was also a basic question on the entrance exam.”

The look on his face was one of clear devastation and humiliation. Peter didn’t know what to say as Tony let the notebook smack down on the counter and ignored how foolish he looked with the beaker still in his hands. “Anything to say?” Tony asked him. When he shook his head, Tony nodded and gestured towards the door. “Good. Go home, you’re tired. Take the day off and come back when you’re not tired enough to make stupid mistakes. And stop being mean to the kids that come in.”

The intern left with a slinking walk and headed towards the door, but all was forgotten as Tony turned his attention towards Peter and gave him a once-over. “So,” he said, “we really should find your guardian. You shouldn’t be in here, squirt. Also, you shouldn’t know how to solve these problems yet. Who are you? Spy from Oscorp?”

“N-no, sir,” Peter stammered. “I’m Peter. Parker. It’s so awesome to meet you—”

“I don’t care,” Tony interrupted. “Buddy, look, you’re wicked smart but you’re up here and you shouldn’t be. I don’t know why FRIDAY gave you the clearance but you gotta go.”

“My guardian—”

“Is probably worried sick, you can call them from the reception’s desk.”

“Dr. Stark,” Peter tried again, “my guardian is here. Pepper brought me into the labs, she’s around here somewhere.”

Tony’s eyes flickered up to Pepper, who was walking closer with a blank face. She wanted to see what Tony’s reaction would be, almost like a test. Test aside, she was also just highly uncertain what would happen. “Okay, kid,” Tony sighed, “you’re not in trouble but tell the truth. You’re brilliant, and I’ll put it in writing for you, but don’t lie about Miss Potts.”

“I’m not, sir,” he tried to argue, but Tony wasn’t having it.

Luckily, Pepper showed up at just the right time. “Tony,” she greeted. “I see you’ve met Peter. Great, isn’t it?”

Tony blinked, studying the two. “This is a dream,” he said rather than answer the question. “I… this is a weird dream. I should go back to bed.”

“Normally I’d agree,” Pepper chuckled. She took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, dazzling and perfect. “This is Peter Parker. I had FRIDAY add his clearances. I want him to have all permissions, the same clearances I do, should he never need it.”

Tony’s tone changed in an instant. “Of course,” he said softly, suddenly understanding. His eyes locked on the way she stood close to Peter but didn’t touch his shoulders, just stood near him with their arms touching, a simple gesture of love.

“I’m happy for you two to finally meet.”

“Let’s head back to the offices,” he suggested. “We’ll talk there.”

Tony Stark was a lot of things. Brilliant, smart, talented, annoying, funny, the worst human being alive. Sure, maybe some of those things were driven from hate comments and his own insecurities, but he held them close regardless. Today, he was only one of those things--the worst human being alive.

How could he not know that his long-time girlfriend had a kid? Had she mentioned it before and he just failed to listen? Would Pepper break up with him? Was he done for?

Pepper had closed her office door before coming to talk to him. Inside was a kid, a teenager, fourteen-years-old and paranoid, but somehow so full of wonder and amazement at all the technology around him. She approached Tony and opened her mouth, but Tony spoke first. “You just locked him in there? Is he bored?”

She waved her hand and sat down across from him. “I had FRIDAY pull up a physics problem for him. Something off the intern’s test.”

“Oh, that’ll keep him busy for days,” Tony chuckled. “Gives you more time to yell at me, huh?”

Pepper’s eyes softened, and she reached forward to rest a hand on his knee. “Tony, I’m not going to yell at you,” she murmured. “There’s no way you could have known about Peter. I kept him on the down-low for a while.”

“You never said you were a mother.” Tony placed his hand over hers and rubbed slow circles with his thumb. It was something that could put Pepper to sleep late at night when she was restless. It calmed her down, and Tony loved that such a simple action spoke volumes.

“He’s my cousin’s nephew,” she told him. “Our family’s a bit off. I’ve known Peter since he was three. His parents died in a plane crash and his uncle and aunt took him in. Then they were killed, and I took him in. I just got custody of him in August, I haven’t been hiding him for fourteen years, Tones. I promise.”

Tony perked up with a realization. “That’s why you took a personal week.”

Pepper nodded. “Peter’s a good kid. I just… I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not a good guardian, and he’s clearly hurting and hiding things from me--”

Both adults fell quiet as her office door opened, and Peter stuck his head out. “Hi, um, Pepper. And Dr. Stark. So, I was wondering if I could have another problem to work on?”

“You finished that one already?” Tony was kind of taken back. It wasn’t the easiest problem in the world and it would require some thought and work to be shown. “FRIDAY, pull up--”

“Mr. Parker has solved the problem correctly,” FRIDAY answered. “He already checked his answers. His completion took two minutes and thirteen seconds, beating the highest-ranking intern by ten minutes and twenty-four seconds.”

Pepper knew he was smart, but she didn’t know Peter was that smart. She looked at Tony, who looked rather pleased. “Well, good job, Pete,” he said. “FRIDAY, pull up file thirteen-ninety-seven-dash-eight for Peter.”

“Of course,” FRIDAY replied.

“If you can solve this one in under an hour, you get the company, Pete,” Tony told him, watching as the kid gave an awkward thumbs up and retreated into the office. Once the door closed, Tony and Pepper turned again to face each other. “Smart kid,” Tony remarked.

Pepper bit back a sigh. “I knew he was smart,” she mumbled, “but I never knew how smart. That’s the thing, Tony, I’m not good at this.”

“You’re already doing way better than some folks,” he assured her. “Plus, it’s an adjustment. The kid seems like he loves you.”

“He’s really hurting.”

“You just gotta be there for him. You said he lost two sets of parents already, this is going to be devastating.” Tony grabbed her hand again and held it in both of his, trying to soothe any woe he could manage. “You are doing an amazing job. Peter is healthy and accounted for. Everything else is going to take time, okay?”

“I lied to you,” she said, ignoring everything she said. “Well, I technically withheld the truth, but I still lied. I thought I could juggle everything at once and I’d get you guys to meet at some point, and it would be great, and we’d all be one big happy family but now I can’t even introduce the two of you without feeling anxious. I’ve never felt so nervous.”

“This was a great introduction!”

She rolled her eyes, ignoring how they stung with the threat of tears. “It was an improv decision. Peter cried last night because he didn’t want me to put him first and quote-unquote, ruin my life. Then I panicked this morning and asked him to come to work with me.”

“And he saved an intern’s life,” Tony reasoned, offering a grin. “That kid has a big heart. It was time for us to meet. I just wish I had time to prepare, I could have had lunch ready instead of telling him to find his guardian and get out of the lab. Does the kid like cheesecake? I know a great little bakery that Steve hides at sometimes.”

Pepper gave a wet laugh and looked down at their hands. She truly did love Tony. This whole situation was scary but she would never let anything happen to Peter, especially not for her relationship. It might have been selfish, but she wanted both. Those were her boys, and neither one should have been sacrificed for the other. “I love you, Tony,” she said softly. “And I love Peter. He’s a great kid. I need you to be okay with that fact he isn’t going anywhere.”

“And neither am I,” he said quickly. “I love you, too. If Peter’s your kid, then I’m sure in time I’ll love the kiddo, too.”

The conversation continued, a sweet and tender moment between the couple without an interruption in the world. They talked about their lives and what everything meant, about Peter and how he factored in, ready to face everything and anything together rather than worrying about it alone. Pepper couldn’t have asked for more. This was a blessing, a smooth road in the journey that had scared the shit out of her a few months ago. With Christmas growing near, she knew life was getting a little harder and this adjustment would be odd for the both of them, Tony included if he wanted Pepper to spend the holidays with him. 

It was interrupted, finally, by Peter poking his head out with a sorry look on his face. “Pete,” Tony cheered, “hey, kiddo. How’s it going in there?”

“Um, hi, Dr. Stark,” he blurted out, tripping over his words a bit. “S-so, um, I don’t actually want the company. Or maybe, I think, you gave me the wrong problem? Possibly?”

“What?”

“I finished the problem.”

Tony’s eyes went wide, and Pepper watched the disbelief. “FRIDAY, give me the details.”

A pause. “Mr. Parker is correct,” FRIDAY replied confidently. “He finished the problem in ten minutes and thirty-two seconds but sat there nervously for another fifteen minutes and eight seconds. I had to assure him that he was, in fact, correct, and you didn’t actually mean it when you offered the company.”

Peter continued quickly, “You just made it seem like a huge deal, like this problem would be really difficult, and I didn’t mean to solve it, I swear, I meant no disrespect, sir.”

“It’s okay, Pete,” Pepper said. “Don’t get upset, you’re not in trouble.”

Tony released Pepper’s hand and rose to his feet. “That’s impossible. That’s an impossible problem.”

“Chemistry isn’t that hard,” Peter reasoned but fell quiet once again in embarrassment. “I’m sure FRIDAY is just reading my handwriting wrong.”

“I could page Dr. Banner to have him look over the answer if Mr. Parker is unsure of himself,” the AI offered. “But I can assure you all, Mr. Parker is correct. His handwriting is very neat.”

At that suggestion, Peter froze. “Wait. Dr. Banner’s in the building? As in Dr. Bruce Banner?”

“The one and only,” Tony confirmed. “FRIDAY, ask him to come up if he’s not busy. He’s been trying to solve this problem for two weeks and he came close, but he couldn’t quite get it.”

Pepper could see Peter’s breakdown from a mile away. He looked panicked, like he was scrambling to voice something but it stayed internalized, and all the kid could do was breathe hard and lean into a wall. His eyes were wide as he stared at Pepper and Tony, unsure of what to say.

“Pete,” Pepper called out, “what’s wrong? You’re not in trouble.”

“This wasn’t in the ten-year plan!” he yelled, then looked shocked at his own outburst.

“What ten year plan?”

“I wasn’t supposed to meet Dr. Banner until I started grad school,” Peter explained. “I’m not prepared. What am I supposed to say?”

Tony laughed, but Peter was still spazzing. “Why grad school?”

“That way I could have at least resorted to my research as a conversation topic!”

Pepper was about to reassure him that everything was alright, but there wasn’t time. The door swung open and in walked Dr. Banner, holding a coffee. Peter froze in fear, unnoticed by the tired-looking scientist. “Good morning, Pepper,” he greeted. “Morning, Tony. What’s the problem you want me to look at?”

Tony stood up, turning to Bruce as he gestured to the frozen kid in the doorway of Pepper’s office. “This is Peter. He’s a big fan, and apparently smarter than both of us.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Peter blurted out, rushing forward to stand near Pepper. “I’m Parker Peter--Peter Parker, sir. I’ve read all your papers on gamma radiation and, well, all your dissertations and I think your work is amazing. I’m not exactly on your level, or even close, I think there may have been an error with FRIDAY--”

Dr. Banner cut him off. “You read my research? Wait--all seven dissertations?”

Peter nodded sheepishly.

“And you understood them?”

Again, he nodded.

Bruce glanced around. “How old are you, Peter?”

“Fourteen, sir.”

The amazement was clear on Bruce’s face. “Okay, FRIDAY, what problem was Peter working on?”

“Boss had me pull up file thirteen-ninety-seven-dash-eight for Mr. Parker, which he solved in ten minutes and thirty-two seconds,” FRIDAY stated rather proudly.

“Impossible,” Bruce all but gasped. “Peter, how did you--”

“I didn’t mean to,” Peter said, pleading for innocence. “I swear, I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened, I’m not that smart! I mean, I’m smart, but I’m not smarter than the two of you. I would never disrespect you or Dr. Stark like that, I promise, I’m so sorry.”

Pepper rose from her seat quickly and rushed towards Peter, who trembled and looked around, not sure of what he should do in that moment. He looked frozen, glancing at the two men before him in fear. The sight broke Pepper’s heart and kicked in her maternal instincts. She wrapped her arms around Peter and pulled him into a hug, her back towards Tony and Bruce.

“Shh, shh, calm down,” she murmured, “you did absolutely nothing wrong. You didn’t do anything wrong, Pete, it’s okay.”

“I didn’t mean…”

“You’re brilliant,” Pepper reassured him. “You don’t have to worry, nobody here is upset, they’re just shocked--in a good way!”

Peter nodded weakly into her shoulder. “They’re not mad?” he asked in a whisper.

“No,” she said softly. “Nobody’s mad. They’re probably eager to go over it with you.”

“Miss Potts,” FRIDAY interrupted, voice softer than usual, “it appears that Peter is having a panic attack.”

Tony and Bruce both waited patiently as Pepper calmed Peter down. It felt a bit awkward at first; the two men would have liked to help but Peter’s anxiety could be felt a mile away, keeping them back and forcing them to be quiet. At first it was hard for Tony to sit through. He’d only met Peter an hour or so before and now he was sitting while his long term girlfriend acted so motherly.

When Peter finally calmed down and came back, he looked around the room sheepishly and tried to apologize before Tony cut him off with a, “I think FRIDAY likes you. Usually when I panic she just yells at me.”

It was meant to be a joke. Pepper may not have smiled, but thank fucking God, Peter did. It was shy and short-lived but it definitely counted.

“Let’s get some lunch, how about that?” Pepper suggested, grabbing her purse from her office and shutting the door. “I think we could all use a break and it’s a little past noon anyway.”

No one seemed to mind the change in route, so Tony decided to grab the reins. If he didn’t step up now then he feared Pepper might not want him around as much anymore. “We’ll go up to the penthouse,” he cut in, giving Bruce a light elbow to the side in a fun gesture. “We can order out for lunch, my treat.”

Bruce wanted to insist it wasn’t necessary, but the look on Peter’s face was quick to shut that down. “I’d like that,” he said instead, brushing off his side from where Tony elbowed him. “And while we wait, I’d like to hear more from this little genius Pepper’s been hiding.”


	4. You Know... Fwip Fwip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper wants Peter to feel loved and wanted, Ned learns a secret, and Tony tries to be a cool adult-step-parent-type-person to Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has commented on this fic. I know I'm slow at updating (I was stuck adding to this chapter for a while, so enjoy the 7,000 words it ended up being) but seeing y'all say lovely things makes my whole day. 
> 
> As always, more comments are appreciated and I hope to hear from y'all! :)

Just because it was a good day didn’t mean Peter was suddenly well and happy again, but it was a positive change. Peter enjoyed his day with Dr. Stark and Dr. Banner, even saying so in the car, and then gushing, “I can’t wait to tell Ned. He’ll be so excited.”

Pepper had to scratch her head for a minute about who Ned was before it all clicked. She remembered taking Ned to the museum and out for lunches with Peter when they both were young and starry-eyed. Now, though, Peter rarely mentioned him. Come to think of it, Peter didn’t mention anything about friends or schooling.

“How’s Ned doing, by the way?” Pepper asked. “I haven’t seen him in a while, I’m glad you guys are still friends.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, he’s great! We’re in a lot of the same classes this year, and lunch, so it’s really cool. I hope it’ll be the same for sophomore year, too. I don’t see him too much after school anymore, so it’s nice to see him at lunch.”

“But you still see him at Decathlon, right?” Pepper asked. She pulled into the parking garage of their apartment and felt worried that the conversation would die out the moment he opened the car door. She didn’t always get these amazing moments with him, truthful ones, ones where all they did was talk and talk until they settled into a comfortable silence and felt at peace.

Peter, however, seemed happy still. Nothing was bothering him, which was nice, seeing as how he was a bit off this morning before they left. Now, though, Peter was his normal, bubbly self, the kind of person that Pepper hadn’t seen in a long while. He looked at her with his happy grin and tucked one leg to his chest. “Yeah,” he answered, “I do. I’ll tell him you remember him, too, that’ll really make his day.”

“You should have him over for dinner.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he agreed, mostly dismissively.

Pepper matched his playful tone but said, “No, I’m serious. Anytime you want to have him over, just ask. Or if you wanna hang out with him, or if you wanna go somewhere. You’re allowed to do things, Peter.”

Peter studied her for a moment, curious about the extended boundaries set before him. Of course, the tighter boundaries were never real, either, having been set by himself out of anxiety and a crippling fear that would never leave him alone. Maybe secrets weren’t needed, at least completely. There were just two things he’d never tell her--one being Skip, and the second being his vigilante status.

“I quit every club I was in when you adopted me.”

It was clear Pepper wasn’t expecting that, but the heart-to-heart they were having--sort of--was nice. Being open meant more communication, and communication was perfect. “Oh,” was all she could say, though, which is not something a fourteen-year-old wants to hear when he tries to open up. “I mean--uh, well…. Honestly, Peter, I’m having a bit of trouble understanding. Why would you quit everything?”

Peter shrugged, and he wasn’t smiling anymore, but he wasn’t hiding either. He was okay to have the conversation. “I dropped band, I dropped robotics, and I dropped any other club or after school activity that you didn’t know about because I didn’t want to burden you with having to pay for it or have to accommodate me.”

Finally pulling into her parking spot, Pepper wasted no time throwing the car in park, turning it off, and looking at him with sad eyes, giving the boy her full attention. “Pete, I’m a CEO in a multi-billion dollar company, not to mention I’m also dating a billionaire. There is no way I would have been inconvenienced by your club fees, okay? And accommodating you, Peter, really? I’m happy to have you in my life.”

“But you made sure that Wednesdays were your early days,” he said, “I couldn’t just stay in band for that. Plus, Ned was kinda right, it wasn’t even what I really wanted to do. I wanted to play a stringed instrument, not a trumpet.”

“Then you can do something else, honey, you don’t have to do things you don’t like.”

“But being alive costs money.” It was said so easily that it made Pepper swallow her tongue. Being alive costs money--everything costs money, but that was Peter’s reason for everything. When he asked for blueberries and promised he’d get the smallest container, Pepper thought nothing of it. When Peter fixed his old, ratty sneakers very carefully instead of asking for new ones, Pepper thought of the sentimental value. This, however, opened her eyes wider than she was expecting.

“Why do you keep saying it like that?” Pepper blurted out. 

“Saying it like what?”

“Being alive is bad, and you’d rather die than ruin plans?”

Peter, realizing his mistake, shrugged it off and ignored the accusation altogether. “We didn’t have a lot of money,” he almost whispered. “I… I didn’t want to take advantage of your kindness. You never asked to deal with me.”

“I’m not dealing with you,” Pepper countered. “Pete, honey, I love you. And I’ll repeat it until you believe me. I’ll spend a million dollars on you right now to show you it’s nothing. You’re worth it, Peter, and I’m not upset to have you. I’m upset at the circumstances. I’m sorry you’re sad and I feel like I could be doing this whole parenting thing better.”

Peter nodded, cheek pressed against his knee and a sad look in his eyes. He wasn’t sure of how to respond, overthinking all his words to find the right ones, but he eventually glanced up at her and asked a different question. “Dr. Stark probably thinks I’m weird, huh?”

Pepper snorted. “What? No way, he thought you were brilliant.” And it was the truth. Tony was over the moon at how smart Peter was and asked Pepper question after question about him. He was pleased to learn that Peter was going to Midtown Tech, but also fascinated to watch Peter discuss Dr. Banner’s work casually as if he was part of the team.

“It was weird. Meeting my hero, I mean. I’ve always wanted to meet him—and meeting Dr. Banner was incredible! I still can’t believe I had lunch with them.”

“Tony was surprised,” Pepper said, pulling the keys out of the ignition. “Bruce usually never comes up for lunch breaks, so when he stayed Tony was kinda shocked. It was nice to see him.”

Peter gave a small smile, another one, that made Pepper smile too. It was nice to see him smile. He didn’t do it much anymore. “Thanks for letting me skip school today. I didn’t want to go.”

“Everything okay?”

He gave another small nod. “Yeah. Just a nightmare.”

Pepper dropped her smile, her brows drawing together in concern. “Oh honey, I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay. But I’m here if—“

“It was Skip.”

Peter didn’t know why he said it. A soft look of sorrow and understanding painted Pepper's face and Peter felt safe. Maybe Peter was falling, but down below, there was a soft cloud to catch him, and it made him feel better about it. She waited for him to continue. Reaching out slowly, she hesitantly placed a soft hand over his, and squeezed in reassurance. 

“I won’t pretend to understand,” she told him softly. “I don’t have any idea what happened with this… Skip person. But I am here for you no matter what, and I want you to know nothing could change how much I love you, okay?”

“Okay,” he echoed.

Still, that was enough of a heart-to-heart for them that night, and Peter turned in for an early night’s sleep. Once he was reassured that Pepper was asleep, counting her heartbeats, he put on his make-shift suit and swung to help.

Now that Tony knew about Peter, Pepper almost expected him to need some space, maybe take a day to figure it out. It wasn’t everyday that you learned your significant other was a parent--but then again, they should have been used to the crazy curve balls life threw at them. Still, Tony wasn’t one to share his emotions or allow himself to be openly vulnerable. He liked to know what was ahead of him and sort himself out that way--not always well, but typically how it went--and Pepper recognized that, even if Tony didn’t. Plus, Tony was never really a morning person unless he didn’t sleep the night before, so she was doubly shocked to go into work the next morning and find him sitting on the corner of her desk with two cups of coffee.

“Which poor intern did you send out to get the coffees this early?” Pepper teased, closing the door behind her.

Tony smiled briefly at her joke. “Natasha and Clint went out to keep an eye on Steve, so they brought us back coffee. It’s still warm so I still count this as a win. Whether it’s good or not, I don’t know.”

She took a cup carefully from him and leaned forward to peck him on the lips. “How’s Steve doing?”

“Still feeling lost,” Tony sighed. “He thinks no one notices that he sneaks out in the morning and rides the Subway to dissociate. Then he sits in a coffee shop and sketches until his fingers cramp, but he’s not opening up to anyone anytime soon.”

“Poor guy.” Pepper sat down in her chair and set her purse in her drawer, waiting for Tony to say something or state his case. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but is there a reason for your visit?”

“Sort of.” Tony took a sip of his coffee and made a face as he tasted it, then decided it was fine and took another. “Two things. First order of business, have you heard anything about the Spider-Guy?”

“Spider-Guy?” Pepper asked. Of course she heard about him, the young guy that was swinging around New York and seeking out any sort of abuser, harasser, or trafficker and helping people with the little things in between it all. She had to admit she appreciated everything he did. A lot of people were saved because of his actions. A four-year-old was on the news the other day saying that the Spider-Guy saved her from her mother’s boyfriend that had been molesting her. Pictures of the abuser with a swollen face, covered in bruises and blood, swarmed the internet. “You mean the person flying around the city in red and blue pajamas? Please don’t tell me he was hurt.”

“Not at all,” Tony said, “at least not from what I’ve seen so far. Everyone says the same thing--he’s nice, friendly, and does whatever he can to help people. And Fury’s always on the lookout for fresh new faces.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Should we dangle me out of a window and wait a while? That’s the only way I can think of arranging a meeting, Tones.”

He laughed at his girlfriend. “Just keep an eye out, please. Anything you hear.”

“Will do.” Pepper took a sip of her coffee and tried not to wince. It was unexpectedly the best coffee she’s ever tasted, but it wasn’t as warm as she’d have liked. Lowering the cup, she looked back at Tony. “Second order of business?”

Tony took a breath and slapped at his thigh, trying to act nonchalant and carefree, even though the stress was eating him alive. He stayed awake all night--this was actually his sixth cup of coffee--practically stalking Peter. Tony’s love for Pepper knew no bounds, and naturally, he would want to be involved in every aspect of her life.

“Out with it, Tony,” Pepper said in a teasing tone. “Cat got your tongue?”

Tony finally looked back to her, meeting her eyes. “What’s Peter’s favorite food?”

“So that’s what this is about.”

“No,” he sighed. “Yes. Okay, look. He’s important to you, so I don’t want to be the weird step dad figure here. I want to be the cool adult that genuinely cares about the both of you and actually puts in effort with the kid.”

Every word made Pepper’s heart sing. She was sure the dumb look on her face was giving her away, too. “He likes Thai food,” she told him softly, fondly. “But he also loves blueberries. He eats them every day and he tries to ration them so he has enough for the week because he thinks it would inconvenience me to buy more than one pack a week.”

“Inconvenience?”

Pepper nodded idly, a placeholder in the conversation as she pondered her next words carefully. “Peter…” But what was there to say? “He’s new to financial stability. His aunt and uncle were comfortable, but… well, do you know how much fresh produce costs?”

“Not much to us, but to Peter, I can see where this is heading.”

“And something happened.” Pepper’s voice cut to a whisper, as if she was terrified to speak of the unknown incident. True, that it upset her knowing nothing about it and feeling helpless, but she hated that she couldn’t even help Peter the way a parental figure should have. “Something happened,” she repeated slowly, trying to speak a little louder than her shameful whisper, “but he won’t tell me.”

Tony waited for her to continue, but she didn’t know what else to say. “I see,” he murmured in reply, “and he doesn’t want to tell you?”

“No. All he does is eat blueberries to pretend everything’s okay, and try to hide his panic attacks. I don’t want to out him, but there’s something there.”

“He’ll come to you when he’s ready,” Tony assured her. “Or, maybe, counseling would work out for him. It’s hard talking to people you’re close to and feeling like you’re ruining the image of yourself in their eyes.”

Pepper laughed, tearfully and breathlessly. “How’d you get so smart?” she asked wetly. “I… God, Tony, I need to do something.”

Tony pulled her into a hug and let her cry, just like he had a few days ago. Parenting was new to them both, even if Tony technically didn’t have the responsibility, he’d be there for Pepper. Nothing was going to stand in his way of keeping his family safe, healthy, and loved.

The day was going by smoothly, besides that little fest of emotions in the morning. Pepper met with the team and said hello, and tried to invite Steve for lunch. He sat with her for a few minutes, but ultimately declined, retreating to isolation with a sad gaze and empty feeling. He’d been on edge ever since he and Natasha--and Sam, the newest Avenger--dealt with the Winter Soldier and Hydra. It was a horrible event, yes, but Pepper had really hoped Steve was healing more.

A meeting ran late--impromptu and rudely last minute--so of course Pepper was late leaving the tower. When her phone rang, she wanted to throw it across the garage. She was so close to freedom, so close to saying goodbye to Stark Industries for a weekend where she could just focus on Peter and nothing else, but she knew Tony was trying so hard to get her to stay for the night.

“I’ll send Happy to get Peter,” he’d begged. “We haven’t had a free weekend to ourselves in months, babe, please.”

But she didn’t want Peter’s first time in the tower to be so soon, or too awkward. She declined with a kiss and ran to her car, which FRIDAY had started and pulled out of its parking space ever so kindly. It still wasn’t enough to win the race, because her phone rang and rang and rang.

She pulled it out to see an unknown number flash across the screen. She debated on ignoring it, but robotically accepted the call before pressing the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Uh, hello!” a young, male voice said on the other end. “Sorry, may I speak with Pepper, please?”

“This is she.”

“Oh. Um, of course! It’s Ned. Peter’s friend, Ned. You might not remember me, but my mom had your number, I hope it’s okay, and--”

“Ned!” Pepper practically cheered. It was great to hear from him. Pepper hadn’t seen him since May and Ben’s funeral, even though she gave her personal number to his mother. Mrs. Leeds often texted, at least once a week, to ask about Peter and if he needed anything, but texts had been growing less frequent as there were no new updates about the boy. Despite her desperation to get home and enjoy the brief moment of silence, Pepper happily talked with Ned. “Hi, sweetheart. God, you sound so grown up. How are you?”

“I’m doing great!” Ned said, and Pepper swore she could see the smile on his face as he said it. “I was calling to see if Peter was with you? He wasn’t answering his phone, but I know a few days ago he said his phone broke, but I wanted to see if he could hang out this weekend? It’s been a while, and I miss seeing him.”

“His phone’s broken?” This was news to her. She always asked Peter if he needed anything and preached the importance of getting a hold of him, so the phone was incredibly important.

“It’s a pretty old phone,” Ned said. “I thought he would ask for a new one for his birthday, but, uh, we both know Peter doesn’t ask for things.”

“I learned that the hard way, recently,” Pepper sighed, making a mental note to get a new phone for Peter. “Ned, I’m just getting off of work now, but I’ll talk to Peter when I get home. Actually…” She slid into the driver’s seat and closed the door behind her. “...want to get an overnight bag ready and I’ll swing by and pick you up? I’ll call for pizza on the way home.”

Pepper called for pizza as she drove to the address Ned sent. He was so excited to see Peter and Pepper again, and Mrs. Leeds was just as happy to see Pepper. She came up to their door and Mrs. Leeds all but flung it open to hug Pepper close.

“How is Peter?” she asked. “I haven’t heard anything from him!”

“He’s…” Pepper sighed. “He’s healing. I don’t think he’s doing as well as he’s telling me, and it’s so hard getting him to open up. But he’s safe so that’s good enough for me.”

Ned kissed his mom goodbye and they made their way back to Pepper’s apartment building. Ned was talking a million miles an hour, rambling like he was trying to get everything out before they were apart for a long time again. 

Peter wasn’t home. He wasn’t in his room or anywhere in the apartment, something that freaked Pepper out more than she would have liked to admit. Sure, teenagers would break curfews and sneak around, but Peter was… Peter. He didn’t go anywhere, so they hadn’t exactly established a curfew in the first place. To make matters worse, the doorbell rang. “Probably the pizza guy,” Pepper said, trying not to seem so frazzled. “Ned, you can wait here sweetheart. I’ll grab that and try calling Peter again.”

Ned settled on Peter’s bed and waited for a sign from his friend as Pepper handled the pizza. It felt strange--he hadn’t had the chance to see Peter’s new room yet. He sat on the bed with a new Star Wars Lego set in his grasp and observed everything. It was oddly… clean, like nobody lived here. Kind of like the staged houses that were for sale. It didn’t resemble Peter’s old room in May and Ben’s apartment, but then again, it was probably a good thing to have a fresh start. Ned prayed that once Peter found himself again, his room would look more like him.

He was so lost in thoughts that he almost missed how the bedroom window opened and a figure crawled across the ceiling. The red and blue pajamas were a shock--Ned had seen them in the newspaper and YouTube videos floating around, but never up close. The Spider Hero, whoever he was, was becoming more popular.

The vigilante dropped down without a sound and took off his mask, unaware that Ned was behind him watching everything. No. Peter’s face was under there.

Ned dropped the box of Legos he was holding, which finally grabbed his attention. Peter spun around so quickly and the two froze, too stunned to do anything other than stare at each other. There was a look of pure excitement on Ned’s face. The childlike wonder, however, didn’t reach Peter. 

“Dude!” Ned whisper-shouted. “You’re the Spider-Guy!”

“Shh!” Peter fumbled to get the suit off, his eyes readjusting to the bright lights. “No, I-I was just getting ready. For a cosplay.”

“You don’t care for cosplay,” Ned pointed out. He watched his friend stagger and nearly punch himself in the face before kicking aside the box and standing to take the sleeve of Peter’s costume. “Dude. Stop spazzing, you’re going to rip it, and you’re freaking out for no reason. It’s okay.”

Peter couldn’t argue anymore. He huffed a sad, defeated breath and stepped out of the suit only to kick it aside. Nothing was said as he dressed, pulling out his actual clothes from his bookbag. If it were anyone other than Ned, he would’ve felt embarrassed to be here in his boxers, but the two were practically brothers. He was pretty sure they’d shared baths before when they were little kids.

“That explains a lot,” Ned said, ignoring the Lego box he dropped and instead opting to help Peter straighten out the costume and hide it in his closet. “You’ve been M.I.A. for a bit, so it makes sense. It’s so cool you’re a hero! Wow! You could actually be an Avenger some day! Dude, I’m begging you--can I be your guy in the chair?”

Peter’s mind couldn’t keep up. He wanted to say something, anything to Ned, but instead, was interrupted by Peter’s door opening and Peter stepping through. “Ned, I--oh! Peter!” He turned to face her, taking in her concerned face. “Where were you? We tried to find you, but you weren’t answering and--”

“I was sitting on the fire escape,” he said quickly. “I’m really sorry, Pepper, I just wanted some air--”

Pepper smiled, though. She wasn’t upset or angry at him, which was a huge relief. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Just… keep me updated on things okay? Text me where you’re at or even leave me a note.”

It was nice to be trusted, though something in Peter’s gut told him that maybe he didn’t deserve it. “Of course,” he said quickly, forcing a smile. “Thanks, Pepper.”

It was nice being able to spend time with Ned. Peter felt like a bad friend for letting his life get in the way of things, his own trauma and feelings festering and putting up barriers in his personal relationships. It wasn’t fair to Ned, either. He’d been there when May and Ben died, just as he’d been there throughout Peter’s whole damn life. Suddenly, though, Peter was faced with a terrible loss and he felt like the world’s biggest asshole, pushing everyone away.

“I’m not upset,” Ned tried to tell him. “You went through hell, dude. I’m just happy I get to hang out with you again. I’m here for you no matter what.”

Ned, of course, was always a great friend. He spent the night and after that, the two boys found themselves spending more time together. After school--except Wednesdays, of course--the boys would do homework either at the apartment, Ned’s house, or sometimes in a coffee shop away from their regular lives. Ned would offer to buy coffees but Peter had a wad of cash from Pepper. She’d actually insisted on getting Peter a credit card, but he felt horrible about having that much money, and he’d gratefully take the forty dollars Pepper handed him. Any change was shoved in his sock drawer, kept for a new cell phone. A part of him felt guilty but then again, he was very asked for any change. The phone’s screen was cracked and was starting to slice his finger a bit with every use, so he finally admitted it was time to save for a new one.

Life continued normally for the next few days until a Wednesday came around. Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the front doors with Ned by his side, expecting a standard day. He’d catch the subway home and meet Pepper for dinner unless she was working late again, but then he could always sneak in a couple hours of patrolling.

When Peter saw the shiny Audi outside, he hoped that Flash’s parents came to pick him up. Ned was talking a hundred miles a minute but every word fell on deaf ears, mumbles to Peter, who prayed to every god imaginable that the Audi was not a property of Stark Industries, and that Pepper would not step out in her professional clothes and sleek ponytail.

No. What happened was worse. Tony Stark himself stepped from the car in his suit and sunglasses, chewing on a piece of gum with his phone pressed against his face. The whole world seemed to stop around them. Ned fell silent and offered his friend a grin, and others took out their phones.

“Fuck my life,” Peter breathed.

Ned clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. “I take it, he's here for you, bud.”

Appearing out of nowhere, Flash scoffed and knocked shoulders with Peter, causing his books to go flying amongst the concrete. “Yeah, right,” he sneered, “what the fuck would Stark want with a bitch like Parker?”

Tony, however, was not pleased with what he saw, and he ended the call without hesitation. Pete scrambled down the front steps to gather his things, Ned close behind him, but Flash wasn’t done. He followed as well and took a larger step, ready to crush Peter’s trembling fingers as he reached for his belongings. Tony began to stride over but a girl beat him to it. She was tall, with curly hair cascading down her back and shoulders. 

The girl stepped in between Peter and Flash, a blank look on her face. “You know, Flash,” she said in a bored tone, “we’d actually like you if you weren’t so determined to project daddy’s anger on to everyone else.”

Flash coiled back with a glare at the girl. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe I don’t,” she agreed, “but maybe I could keep yelling out my theories until you cry in front of the whole school. Choice is yours.”

He left just as Tony made it to The group, bending down to help Peter pick up his things. “That kid’s nice,” he said sarcastically. “So, Mr. Parker, Pepper has graciously weaseled me out of a meeting I didn’t want to sit through, and in return, I am your chariot for today. What do the cool kids do after school nowadays?”

Peter shrugged, his face heating up and kids began to gawk at him. “Dunno, I’d have to ask a cool kid.”

“C’mon, underoos, you’re cool.” Tony’s phone buzzed again until he took it from his pocket and ignored the call without so much as a second thought. “We could grab a ridiculously unhealthy milkshake and make a mess out of the lab if you’d like. I’ll make sure none of the interns yell again. Actually, we’ll just go to my own lab, but if I blow something up I might blame you. I have a running bet with Bruce.”

“Dude, what is your life?” Ned groaned, bumping his shoulder into Peter’s. “Go get a milkshake and blow stuff up with Iron Man so I can live through you.”

“Who’s the kid that’s living through you? Gonna introduce me?”

Ned shot out his hand and tried not to let his voice crack. “N-Ned Leeds, sir. Peter’s friend.”

Tony shook his hand and jerked his head towards the Audi, still snapping away at his gum. “Pepper mentioned you by name, Mr. Leeds, the pleasure’s all mine. Wanna crash the party?”

“I wouldn’t wanna intrude—“

“Nonsense,” Tony assured. “Any friend of Peter’s is always welcome. So I hear three yay’s for a milkshake and then we’re pretending not to blow things up? This is a great plan, honestly.” He gave MJ a once over, too. “You’re welcome as well, but I don’t like the idea of you getting too close to Nat if she’s in the tower. You two have the same energy and I don’t know if the world is ready for that yet.”

She smiled briefly and looked back at Peter and Ned. They weren’t exactly close, but they weren’t exactly strangers, either. They all sat at a lunch table together and talked sometimes--MJ didn’t have many friends of her own. She stuck to herself and read her books, sometimes making snarky comments to the boys or pushing into their conversation with insight. They didn’t mind--she was nice and didn’t actually bully them. She was fun. She also had their backs, and they appreciated having her around.

“Not today, Stark, but thanks,” MJ said as she handed the last book to Peter. “I’ll see you dorks tomorrow, okay? Don’t get blown up or anything. I might have to miss ya.” Rather than waiting for a response or two, she turned with a small wave and began making her way home.

Tony wasn’t sure how to react to that, but Ned and Peter didn’t seem to think it was out of the ordinary. Continuing, Tony just smiled and led the kids back to the Audi, ignoring all the chatter and the way students began to take out their phones. “Also, Pepper mentioned something to me about your phone being broken?”

Peter winced, following. “Uh, yes, sir.”

“Remind me to swing by the fifteenth floor for a new phone for you. Ted can have one too. It’ll be good to have the youth testing products anyways, so before you say no, think of it as helping a business and getting something better out of it.”

A new phone would have been nice, and Ned was practically bouncing with excitement. It was amazing to see more of Peter, but to get milkshakes with Tony Stark and then get a new StarkPhone? That was pretty…. amazing. Peter couldn’t say no to that--not without feeling like a shitty friend again.

“Okay,” Peter agreed, which shocked Tony a bit. “But we gotta go to a certain ice cream place because Ned is a milkshake connoisseur.”

“Let’s go then!”

It was a great time, honestly, and despite the anxiety, Peter couldn’t say otherwise. After milkshakes from Ned’s favorite ice cream place, Happy drove them to the tower and rather than taking the private entrance--that Peter had no idea about, because it was a secret and rarely used--Tony took them through the front and ushered them towards the elevator.

“Pete,” Tony started, “since you were here last time you already have the clearances, so I’ll get your badge on our way. Ted--”

“Ned, sir.”

“Ned, yeah,” Tony repeated as if making a mental note. “You’ll have to just state your name to FRIDAY, agree to a background check, and I’ll make sure you get all the clearances that Peter has. You’re welcome here any time, but all of Pepper’s rules apply. I’m sure she’s given ya the spiel. I don’t want any funny business here, but if you kids are gonna do dumb stuff, I guess I’d rather you do it in the tower so an adult can help you. Just don’t tell Pepper I said that because honestly I’m not sure what her parenting style is and I’m not going to step on her toes.”

Before either of the boys could respond, FRIDAY cut them off. “Welcome back, boss. It’s nice to see you again, Peter.”

“Hi, FRIDAY,” he said with a smile.

Ned looked at Peter with wide eyes. “An AI? Dude, that’s so cool.”

“I’ll get started on the clearances for your new guest,” FRIDAY replied. “Please state your full name.”

“Edward Leeds,” he said. “But I go by Ned, please.”

“I’ll keep you updated, boss,” FRIDAY said just before they stepped off. The red, glowing “15” above the elevator door indicated they were about to get their new phones, as promised by Tony. He led the boys down the bustling hall and into a smaller office, where a young woman in a pencil skirt sat and typed. She had thick braids that would have trailed down her back if she hadn’t gathered them in a ponytail above her head.

At the sight of Tony, she abandoned all attention from her computer and near stammered over her words. “Mr. Stark!” she yelped. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were visiting! I believe I forgot—“

“Impromptu drop-by,” he assured her. “Boys, this is Jenna. She’s in charge of finishing any loose ends for the StarkPhones, whether it’s color, boxing, or charger issues. She receives messages before anyone else does, and if she can’t figure it out or if something else comes up, she reports to Leona down the hall.”

She nodded and tried to compose herself. “Absolutely, yes. I’m just finishing up an email to her right now about longer chords and wireless charging options for all of our electronics, not just phones. Other companies haven’t tapped into those inclusions yet, they’re add-ons. We might be onto something here.”

“Great!” Tony complimented. “Not to downplay your thinking, Jenna, but I’d like to grab two of the new models for the boys here.”

Jenna smiled brightly. “Of course! I was wondering when Miss Potts’ kid was gonna come get a new phone. You know, you’re the talk of the tower, Peter Potts.”

“Parker,” Tony corrected in a hushed tone, but Peter heard it anyway.

“Peter Parker, sorry,” she apologized quickly. “Your last name wasn’t mentioned, but your brilliance was. Dr. Banner swung by for a new phone and he was amazed by your intellect. I’m sure you’ll be Dr. Parker in a few years, eh?”

Tony only seemed proud of Peter and didn’t stop Jenna’s gushing, even as she moved towards the standing cabinet on the far wall. It made Peter almost uncomfortable. He was smart, yes, but he wasn’t the smartest person in the room. Jenna didn’t even address Tony as Dr. Stark, but Mr. Stark, and he thought it was odd how everyone in the building just brushed past his Ph.D. Praising Peter for his brain felt weird, but it didn’t set in why until Jenna kept talking.

“Don’t get all shy on me now, Einstein!” Jenna laughed. “It’s nice that you’re so humble, but don’t sell yourself short, kiddo. Now, colors, let’s see… you boys can…”

Jenna was talking--still talking, but not about him. Not him. It’s okay, Peter, he tried to tell himself, but he felt himself slipping out of his skin. Ned was excited and oblivious to Peter’s hesitation.

Don’t get all shy on me now, Einstein.

And down goes his little blue boxers.

Peter didn’t realize he was staggering until Tony steadied him. “Whoa, hey, kid,” he said, a hand firm yet gentle on his biceps. “You okay? You seem a little spacey.”

Before Peter can answer that, FRIDAY interrupted with a quick, “Miss Rue, Pepper Potts has requested to see you in her office.”

Tony was just as confused as Jenna “FRI, are you sure? Pep has another meeting in two minutes, she isn’t--”

“I’m afraid I can not give away details,” FRIDAY interrupted again, “but I can assure you this isn’t accidental. I’m following new rules given to me by Miss Potts herself. She is currently requesting Miss Jenna Rue in her office immediately.”

Peter found it easier to breathe as Jenna rushed out of her office, but he did feel guilty about the situation. He brushed off the awkwardness and impending anxiety to look over the different colors with Ned. “You should get the red or the blue,” Ned joked, “they’ll match your colors.”

“Colors?” Tony asked.

Peter and Ned shared a look. They hadn’t exactly talked about Spider-Man since their sleepover, but Peter knew Ned could be trusted with the secret, no matter how terrible he was at keeping them. Ned was a great friend--his only true, best friend--and he knew that Ned wouldn’t give it away, even on the spot right now.

“Peter’s a huge fan of Spider-Man,” Ned blurted out. “You know, the red and blue guy? With the webs? Fwip, fwip?”

Oh dear fucking God, Peter was screwed.

Ignoring the awkward rambling Ned was trying to supply, Tony just chuckled and picked up a blue phone. “Spider-Man, huh? I thought New York was calling him Spider-Guy?”

Ned laughed nervously, fiddling with the orange phone in his hands. “I thought that, too, but he said he likes to go by Spider-Man.”

Tony looked up from the box he held. “You talked to Spider-Man?”

Peter thought about pretending to pass out so he could derail the whole conversation, but Ned would have only rambled more.

“Once,” Ned tried to say as calmly as possible. “Peter and I saw him at the coffee shop by our school! We were doing homework and he stopped a, uh, robbery.”

Tony’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “You two were caught up in a robbery?”

“No!” Peter hissed at the same time Ned said, “Yeah!”

Tony wasn’t sure who to believe. “So, which one is it, boys?”

Ned gave Peter a look, almost begging for him to take over, and Peter couldn’t resist. He started with a sigh. “Okay, look, Dr. Stark you can’t tell Pepper, because she’ll freak out and I don’t want to stress her out. But it wasn’t even a bad robbery, the guy was an idiot! And Spider-Man just had to shoot a web and the guy was out cold, he didn’t even have a plan or a mask. He might have also been drunk, we don’t know. But we caught Spider-Man after and he was really cool, that’s all. I promise, we were fine.”

Tony stared at them for a moment, pondering over their story and gauging the legitimacy of it, before nodding shortly and handing the blue phone to Peter. “Cool. Well, if you ever see the Spider-Guy--I’m sorry, Spider-Man,” he corrected, “tell him to swing by.”

“Why?” Peter asked, maybe a little too quickly.

“Because the guy’s swinging around in pajamas, and I have a lot of great suit ideas he’d probably appreciate,” he said simply with a shrug. “Now let’s go. Pick out your phones and let’s head to the lab. We’ll get them activated and I’ll show you guys how to work them like a charm. 

Spending time in Tony Stark’s personal lab was even better than they thought. It was a bit messy and well-used but still exciting as hell for the young boys. They explored, posted fun tidbits to their Snapchats using their new phones, and had fun. Tony had to admit, too, maybe the kids weren’t as bad as he thought. (He would never admit he was nervous of messing up such brilliant, impressionable children, but under his facade, he was proud of himself for being a cool yet responsible adult.)

The fun was far from over, even as Pepper finished her meeting and other tasks before dragging all three of them out of the lab. “No teaching your children your bad habits,” she scolded, pressing a kiss to Peter’s cheek, then Ned’s.

“What bad habits? I was being very responsible!” Tony interjected.

She gave him a pointed look. “Tony, you haven’t even considered dinner yet. These are teenage boys, they need a meal to grow nice and strong.

Peter was secretly thankful that Pepper said something about dinner. He’d been hungry for hours but didn’t want to be rude. Luckily, Ned laughed and elbowed Peter lightly. “God knows we’re always hungry, Miss Potts.”

“Let's get you guys some grub.”

Tony told FRIDAY to order Pad Thai for the four of them as they took the elevator up to the penthouse. Trapped in the small four walls with the three other people, Peter felt happier than he had in months. He missed hanging out with Ned, but he also enjoyed seeing Pepper being happy. Tony kissed her forehead and wrapped an arm around her, the two of them listening to Ned talk about his day with animated gestures and child-like exaggeration. His new life wasn’t anything close to his old one, but it was comforting and warm, just what he needed.

“Oh,” Tony said in a ‘duh’ tone, suddenly remembering. “Why did FRIDAY page Jenna Rue to your office?”

Pepper glanced at Peter for a split second, just long enough for him to notice. “Just something about the phones,” she lied easily. “She accidentally sent that email to me as well as Leona, and I told her not to wait for Leona’s permission. I liked her idea about chargers and whatnot.”

Peter wondered if it had anything to do with the name she called him, and he wondered if he got her in trouble for being uncomfortable. There wasn’t much time left to wonder, however, as the elevator arrived at the penthouse and Tony ushered them out as soon as the door opened. “Make yourselves at home, kiddos,” Tony said. “And Ned, please let your mother know you’ll be home after dinner, I don’t want her thinking we kidnapped you.”

Pepper gave Peter a small smile as she slipped off her heels and made her way into the kitchen. Maybe, no matter what really happened in her office today, it was nice having Pepper in his corner.


	5. Padme Amidala Deserved Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MJ might know something, Tony tries to be better than Howard, and Pepper wants Peter to have a good family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels more like a filler, but honestly, this fic is just slow-paced. I keep having to remind myself that it's okay. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much for the comments, y'all are amazing! It will be a bit longer before Pepper and Tony find out who Spider-Man really is, and I just have to say.... I have the chapter already written, I'm ITCHING to share it!

MJ was staring again. She looked up over her book and glanced at Peter, but her gaze lingered just a bit longer than necessary. He didn’t usually catch it, either. He was busy talking to Ned or had his own thoughts to get lost in, but this time MJ’s stare was obvious. It became lunch-time past time, almost a game of cat and mouse. Ned would make little remarks about it later as they walked to calculus, and Peter wouldn’t understand it at all.

Now was a different story. Peter had tried to finish his lunch slowly but the aching in his stomach remained, begging for food, and now he was trying to ground himself to ignore the feeling. His gaze swept the room in search for a distraction, only to find… MJ. When Peter locked eyes with her, MJ didn’t look away or act embarrassed. Rather, she lowered her book and said, “You’re still hungry.”

“I’m sorry?”

Instead of repeating herself, she shoved the rest of her tray towards him and finally tore her gaze away, returning her attention back to her book. “You’re practically starving. And you can’t deny it because I can see it in your body language.”

MJ was right, though Peter hated to admit it. It was one of the many terrible changes that happened after the spider bite. He faced a huge spike to his metabolism and now he was hungry all the time. He knew eating more would help, but there was also the shame of knowing Pepper would have to pay for it all. Teenage boys already ate more than usual--stereotypically, yes--and while he used that as an excuse sometimes, he knew he couldn’t eat to be satisfied. The grocery bill would be too high, and his comfort and health wasn’t exactly worth the cost in his eyes.

“I’m not gonna eat your lunch, MJ.”

“Only my friends call me MJ.”

Peter gave her a look. “We’re friends if you’re giving me your lunch.”

MJ nodded, still not looking up from the book in her hands. “Great, so you’re eating it.”

“Hey, wait--”

“Either that or I’ll convince Ned to baby-bird it to you,” she threatened. “Your choice, webby.”

Both Peter and Ned were shocked by the nickname, too stunned to say anything in regards to it or to argue further about the lunch. The two boys shared a look, and in defeat, Peter ate the rest of MJ’s lunch.

The good thing about a fast metabolism and a crazy-super body was the healing factor. Paper cuts healed in minutes and bruises faded within a day or two. The knowledge came at a cost, of course, but it was great to know. He knew he could have healed faster if he ate more and slept better, too. 

Peter was getting better at stitching himself up. It wasn’t necessary all the time, but unfortunately, there were times when he wasn’t able to dodge a bullet. The first time he was shot, he thought he would die out in the alley way, alone and miserable. He dug it out the best he could, climbed back through his window, and made sloppy stitches out of dental floss. He was glad Pepper accidentally bought him the unflavored kind, or else he’d really be in pain.

The second time, he was too worried and he swung the whole way to Ned’s house. He tapped on the window until Ned let him in, but once he saw the blood he bombarded Peter with hundreds of questions. 

“I need help,” he said, “I can’t go to a hospital and I need to get the bullet out, but Pepper’s home right now. She thinks I went to your house after school.”

“Idiot,” Ned grumbled under his breath, though he ducked under Peter’s arm and helped him into the bathroom. “You’re lucky my parents are working right now. Actually, no, you’re not lucky, I don’t know what I’m doing, Peter! I can’t--”

“I shouldn’t need stitches if I just lie very still for an hour,” he said, cutting him off. “I just need to get the bullet out and then let it heal. I promise!”

Ned sat with Peter on the cold tile floor as he worked to dig the bullet out. It was terrifying. Ned watched in horror as Peter worked quickly with rubbing alcohol and tweezers, gritting his teeth as he hit tissue and muscle. His hands were coated in blood and stained with the horrible red, just as red as the drops on the floor. There was also a blood stain on the side of Ned’s shirt, and he knew he’d have to scrub it clean in the sink before his parents saw it.

“How do you know lying still for an hour will work?” Ned asked, eyes glued to the wound. “That definitely needs stitches.”

“I did the stitches before and they were ready to come out an hour later,” Peter grunted, biting back tears as he let the bullet fall to the floor. “Shit. Okay, okay, we’re fine. I just gotta put pressure on it now and I’ll be good to go.”

Ned grimaced at the sight, but still moved to grab a wet towel for him. “I don’t know why you can’t just tell Tony Stark about this. He’d probably help you.”

Guilt settled into Peter’s gut. Was he being a bad friend again? “I’m really sorry you had to see all this, Ned, I didn’t think--”

“I don’t mean like that,” Ned cut him off, handing him the wet cloth. “Dude, I’m happy you asked for help instead of trying to do this by yourself. Plus, what kind of guy in the chair would I be if I didn’t help you out?”

He still felt the anxiety creeping up on him. “Yeah,” he mumbled lamely. “I… I don’t know. Dr. Stark is looking for Spider-Man and I’m afraid he’d make me stop if he realizes it’s me. Access to the med bay and better equipment would be amazing but I can’t risk that just yet. I don’t wanna stop being Spider-Man.”

Ned nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. “That makes sense,” he said. “Okay. Put pressure on that and lie really still. Wanna order a pizza or something?”

Across the city, Tony was losing his mind trying to locate Spider-Man. He had dozens of clips pulled up on holographic screens around him but he was practically untraceable, no identifying marks or dead giveaways. There was a young man out there, swinging in pajamas and doing good deeds, yet he didn’t want to be found. Tony could understand the joy of anonymity--especially to a stand-alone vigilante--but holy fuck. All Tony wanted to do was offer him a suit and maybe recruit the guy.

He was tired. The lack of sleep would do it amongst the other problems. The thought of Pepper and Peter lingered on his mind and kept him up, the overbearing anxiety of not being supportive enough weighing down on him like a ten-ton weight. The whole issue with the Accords. Steve avoiding Tony like the plague only to seek him out at three A.M. and tell him all about the death of his parents, how his brainwashed friend did it, how he wanted nothing more than to rescue him and keep him close, to never let go, never let go, don’t let go, don’t--

“Boss,” FRIDAY said suddenly, her voice so soft it almost sounded human-like. “I believe you’re having a panic attack. Would you like me to call Miss Potts?”

Tony shook his head frantically, rubbing his eyes with shaking hands and trying to bring himself out of it. Steve was his friend. Sure, they had a rocky start, but things were looking up. Things were different. So different--

“Boss,” FRIDAY said again, a soft murmur. “Colonel Rhodes is in the building, he’s requesting to see you. Should I alert him of the situation?”

“No,” Tony rasped behind trembling fingers and a heavy tongue. “Fuck. Leave me alone.”

“Miss Potts says I am unable to abandon you when you’re panicking,” FRIDAY murmured. “I could call another friend if you would like. Colonel Rhodes is currently on his way up since I didn’t answer him. Miss Potts would like me to remind you that we care about you, boss, and we’re here to help.”

Tony cried but let Rhodey into his lab anyway to sit with him through it. Once he could breathe again, Rhodey grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the lab. “Let’s get a cheeseburger, huh?”

Tony just nodded. A cheeseburger sounded pretty good.

Time continued on and things seemed to look better for both of the heroes. Peter was four weeks ahead of his school work, performing at the very top of his class, but even the teachers began to see how miserable he was. 

Peter was a shell of himself. They understood what had happened, but they thought a family member took him in and would have looked after him a bit better. They felt guilty for thinking like that after a while, realizing that Peter may have had the support available, but getting over such a traumatic event was more difficult than they could have known.

It wasn’t until a Friday afternoon that the office secretary, Miss Yu, rushed into the faculty lounge with Peter Parker’s records, that they realized how strange Peter’s life had become. “His emergency contact is Virginia Potts,” Miss Yu said, waving the file around for emphasis. “Could be a coincidence, right? But her work number is a Stark Industries number. Peter’s guardian is CEO Pepper Potts.”

There was no way. Nobody could believe it, or maybe they didn’t want to. Peter said nothing about his new life and continued to be vague with every question asked. Mr. Harrison asked Peter how he was adjusting to his new living situation, and the boy just shrugged and said, “It’s different from living with my aunt and uncle, but my cousin’s very nice.”

Miss Yu saw Peter in the hall after the final bell and quickly approached him with a personal contact form, which was more of a convenient excuse to see him and pry. “Peter, sweetie, hi,” she greeted with a smile. “I think your guardian filled out the form wrong, we still have your old address. Could I have you fill this out and bring it back tomorrow?”

Peter took the form with a polite smile and nodded. “Of course, Miss Yu. I’m sorry about that. My cousin, she’s really busy sometimes, we probably just missed this one.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” she said, though she was more excited about Peter opening up. “What does your cousin do?”

“Business stuff, mostly.” Peter gave Miss Yu a wave a good-bye before turning away and heading out of the building, leaving her completely unsatisfied with his answer. Sure enough, Peter visited the following morning with the completed form, updated, and signed off by Virginia Potts.

The following Friday, however, brought a lot of excitement for the school faculty and staff. It was more of an emergency situation for Pepper, and she strode into the school on a mission. Her heels clacked against the floor and gathered attention from all directions, eyes pulled towards the professional woman with a slick ponytail and a soft smile on her face.

She buzzed into the main office, and once the door unlocked, she smiled warmly at Miss Yu, who was too awe-struck to greet the CEO before her. “I’m so sorry for dropping in,” Pepper said as she approached Miss Yu’s counter. “An emergency came up, I was wondering if I could pick up Peter? Guardians can do that, right?”

Miss Yu nodded dumbly. “Uh, yes! Yes, Miss Potts, uh--I’ll page him right now.” Usually she would have to ask for ID or at least the student’s last name, but she was so flustered all she could do was pick up her phone and flip through Peter’s class schedule.

Seven minutes later, Peter was walking into the office with his back-pack slung over his shoulder and a confused look on his face. “Hi, Pepper,” he greeted her. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine,” she assured him. “A last minute business trip came up and I can’t get out of it. I have to leave in an hour or so--I wanted to say goodbye and see if you were okay with staying at the tower with Tony.”

Tony Stark? Miss Yu tried to look busy filing papers instead of frantically texting the faculty group chat, but she was losing her mind over the fact that Tony Stark was playing step-parent, and that Peter was acting very casual about it.

“I wouldn’t want to bother Dr. Stark,” Peter said, unsure.

“I won’t get back until Wednesday,” Pepper told him. “And plus, I don’t think Tony would mind.”

To be honest, Tony had nearly begged Pepper to leave Peter with him. Pepper was frazzled and rushed around, packing her things--she took most of her suits and business clothes from Tony’s suite, not wanting to waste time stopping by her own apartment--as she thought aloud about Peter. She spazzed and decided ten times she wasn’t going, until Tony assured her he could do it.

Despite her assurance that Tony wouldn’t mind, Peter seemed unsure. He was very hesitant about stepping into people’s personal spaces without a full welcome or consent to do so. It was sweet of him, though Pepper worried about his anxiety. “You know,” she continued, “I’m sure you could sweet talk him into letting Ned come over. The whole boy’s night thing would be really convincing.”

“Pepper…”

Time to pull out the big guns. “Tony hasn’t seen the prequels.”

Peter’s eyes flickered. “You don’t mean…”

“I do,” she said seriously.

Miss Yu couldn’t wait to tell the group chat about this whole exchange.

Peter looked determined now, rather than scared and unsure. “Okay, but I’ll need to get everything from the apartment. I’ll catch the subway up to the tower after I pack a bag.”

“Not to worry,” Pepper told him with a smile. “Happy’s waiting outside for us. He’ll drop me off first and then take you to get your things before heading back to the tower.”

Peter wished Miss Yu a good day and as soon as the duo were out the door (and walking towards the beautiful Audi out front) Miss Yu had pulled out her cell phone, too stunned to speak.

Tony had instantly prepared the guest suite for Peter, ordered many pounds of blueberries for delivery and stacked every container in the fridge, and laid out takeout menus galore over the coffee table, along with every remote needed for the television and a short list detailing how to use FRIDAY. He felt, in the end, that it was kind of redundant, as FRIDAY could do everything including ordering more blueberries and pulling up takeout menus. Still, though, Tony wanted everything to be perfect. 

After Pepper’s frenzy, Tony knew he had to step up. He wasn’t Howard, he never would be. Instead, he would be the cool adult-step-guardian-thing that Peter could confide in, and everything would be history! At least, it’s what he’d hoped.

Tony loved Pepper more than anything in this world. There was never a woman in his life that meant as much to him as Pepper--he craved her, loved her, worshipped her. She knew him in and out and allowed him to exist without ridiculous expectations or demands. There were times he looked at rings or considered asking for her hand in marriage, but Peter was a… curveball.

He knew very few things about Peter. He was smart, he was shy, he was carrying a lot of childhood trauma, and… the list ended there. Happy spoke brightly about him, despite their limited interactions, but he saw he hurt in the child, too. Tony loved Pepper too much to be inconsiderate of Peter’s feelings. A marriage would disrupt his life. Asking Pepper to move in would also disrupt his life. Even having Pepper over for dinner or spending the night anymore was a disruption on Peter’s life, and Tony hated that. Not that he hated not being able to do things--he hated the idea of being a Howard towards the kid.

But this was going to be different. Tony was going to listen to the kid, be a good adult, and someday down the line, marry the hell out of Pepper. Whatever she wanted--and also whatever Peter wanted, too. He just had to be a good host for Peter until Pepper came back, and hopefully his little family would fall into place once more.

The elevator chimed to announce an arrival, and rather than Peter stepping through alone or even with Happy, he was walking towards Tony with Natasha and Steve by his side.

Stark nervously checked his watch--Peter was on time thanks to Happy, but he wasn’t thrilled Peter had to meet the others so soon, and not on his own terms. Or even on Tony’s. “I told you guys I’d be down in a bit,” he said as he stepped past them. “Hey, underoos, I’ll just be a sec with these guys, I’m really sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” Peter said honestly, “I really hope I’m not intruding on anything. Pepper said I wasn’t, but…” Trailing off, trying to make a face to prove his point, though he looked a bit more excited than he should have. “I wanna go with you guys, anyway.”

“With us?” Tony asked.

Nat cut in before Peter could stumble through an explanation. “It’s Barnes,” she said quietly. “He messed up his arm.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Stark said dryly. “I’m not exactly on speaking terms with him.”

A look of hurt flashed across Peter’s face as he pushed himself back into the conversation. “But Dr. Stark, it’s really bad. A few of the outer plates near the wrist aren’t clicking into place like they usually should and he’s having sort of, uh, I think we could call them muscle spasms? What if it causes nerve damage? That’s a big risk.”

Steve rested a hand on his shoulder briefly. “It’s alright, kid. Bucky and Tony have a rocky history.”

Peter shook his head. “No, it’s not alright. He was brainwashed up until recently. I understand he did a lot of wrong, but he doesn’t deserve this pain. C’mon Dr. Stark, please? It’s not like you have to talk to him the whole time. No friendly interaction needed. I’ll do all the talking if you need me to!”

Tony hated how this kid pulled at his emotions. He had everything perfect for Peter's stay, but now he had to take time out of his grand tour to play handy-man with the man that killed his parents. Everything in him wanted to groan and give a sarcastic response, yet the side of him that was determined to stay in Peter’s good graces just sighed through his nose and gestured vaguely with his hand to the elevator. “Alright, fine,” he said, “lead the way, Spangles.”

“I’m coming, too!” Peter let his backpack fall from his shoulders to the floor before catching up with the group, grinning like an idiot. “I know it might sound insensitive given the circumstances, but I’m excited to witness this.”

“Excited to witness me working on a hunk of metal?”

If Peter had the courage, he probably could have chuckled at Tony’s words. “Well, sure, but you have to admit it’s a very impressive hunk of metal. Vibranium is crazy rare and I get to see it with my own two eyes, Dr. Stark. That in itself is cool. But the arm itself is kind of a technological wonder. He can feel with it. It’s connected to his nerves and he can feel things as sensitive as fruit or plants, and the fact they got it to act like skin at all is mind-blowing.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “How do you know all this?”

Peter jerked a thumb towards Nat and Steve, who stood silently beside them, letting Peter talk. “Miss Romanoff and Captain Rogers called the elevator as I was on my way up and I got to meet Bucky. He begged them not to bother you, but I begged him to not beg them so we could bother you about it because--” He stopped dead in his tracks, frowning to himself. “I’m rambling. I’m sorry, that’s probably really annoying.”

“Not at all,” Tony told him. “Plus, I kind of asked the question. You’re just explaining if anything.”

Peter nodded, trying not to frown but he still didn’t seem so sure. “Okay. But I wanted to ask you about it because he looked really pained, and he didn’t deserve that, but I also want to see how it works.”

Bucky was already waiting in front of Tony’s lab, a pained expression painted on his face that only deepened as Tony’s disgruntled figure came into view. The group was ushered inside without a word--if it weren’t for Peter’s excited demeanor it would have been more awkward, and Tony’s distaste for Bucky would have been voiced at this point. Tony had to admit it, though--seeing Peter kind of light up at the thought of science was nice. It was a common ground, but also, Peter’s happiness was kind of rare from what Pepper said. It kept her up at night, it pulled her from work. Now, though, Peter was fighting a grin and he didn’t seem to overthink as much.

“Take a seat,” Tony told Bucky without emotion before he turned away to pull a wheeled tray towards him. “FRIDAY, pull up the blueprint for Barnes’ arm.”

“Here you are, boss.”

Peter bit back a gasp as the blueprints were projected in front of them, a wonder of light and soft colors, manipulable by the wave of a hand. Steve couldn’t help but to notice the wonder in his eyes as he toyed with the projection, shyly almost, as if he was afraid of getting in trouble.

Bucky grimaced as he settled into the seat and stretched out his metal arm, but didn’t dare to speak up about the discomfort. Peter noticed, though, from the corner of his eye. The arm itself twitched, plates whirring and failing to function as they should, despite the lack of abnormalities. 

Tony sat himself on the low stool with wheels and slid over to Bucky’s side, right in front of his arm, with the little tray in tow. “Okay, so what’s the issue?” he asked. “I see plates… W-5 and W-6 are bothering you?”

When Bucky stammered through an uncertain response, Peter studied the blueprints FRIDAY projected before him for a solution. “Did you hit it off of something?” Peter asked, trying to cut through the awkwardness.

“No?” Bucky said, as if it were a question. “Uh, maybe?”

Tony looked up at him briefly. “You don’t remember or are you trying to hide some shit?”

Peter hated his tone, but he also hated conflict. It sent a shiver down his spine, one he fought in favor of keeping the peace, eagerly jumping in once more to keep tensions low. “What Dr. Stark means,” he said with a forced laugh, “is that you don’t have to keep things from us. But you don’t have to talk about it, either, if you don’t want to.”

Bucky opened his mouth to answer just as another shiver ran down the back of Peter’s neck. He hated that whenever something was wrong, he had a sixth-sense that wouldn’t stay calm. There were a million things happening in this room alone, how could he possibly find out what dangers lurked around him? His eyes frantically searched for a threat only to come up empty handed, the only abnormality being Bucky’s scrunched up face and Tony digging into a plate wrong.

He realized it just as Bucky broke through his lip, a smear of red against his flesh.“No!” Peter yelped, grabbing Bucky’s wrist and the screwdriver from Tony’s grasp. “You can’t do that, you’ll hurt him.”

“Kid, this plate is disrupting the others. I have to--”

“You’re right,” Peter interrupted, “but it’s worse than that. This plate has dented the other plate above it, and that if you rip this one out it’ll mess the other one up worse. Look--” Too frantic to explain his realizations, Peter instead pulled up another stool and sat adjacent to Tony before getting to work. The room fell into a silent sense of wonder. Steve, Natasha, and Bucky were both mesmerized by the way the kid worked, too brilliant for words, but Tony was afraid of having that luxury. While he wanted to watch Peter work, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of Bucky for too long. The man was a killing machine, and if Pepper knew Peter was close to him, it would crush her. Tony was supposed to be responsible, the cool-adult figure with responsibility, how was this responsible?

“I think this will hurt a bit,” Peter murmured to Bucky. “I can talk about something else if you’d like. To distract you, I mean. I got pushed around a lot as a kid, and my aunt and uncle would tell me silly things while cleaning the scrapes and stuff.”

“You don’t have to,” Bucky said reluctantly, almost pained, but Peter knew better than that. He didn’t like that he saw the same hollow look that he wore himself on Bucky’s face.

“I brought all my Star Wars movies because Pepper told me that Dr. Stark hadn’t seen the prequels,” Peter said calmly. He spoke as if narrating a movie or a documentary, something that Bucky could easily follow along with. “I should have only brought the first three episodes, but then I realized, what if Dr. Stark hadn’t seen the other episodes? Or what if he had a viewing preference? Some people watch them by release date and not in chronological order, and I respect that. So I brought all of them.”

Bucky gritted his teeth as Peter worked on his arm, but soon the pain was eased and he could only blink, eyes glued to his metal wrist. “Star Wars?” he croaked, trying to carry on the conversation. “I think those movies were on Steve’s list. We never got to see them.”

“They’re amazing,” Peter told him before turning to Tony. “I need… um. A different tool, I think, Dr. Stark.”

Tony nodded, awe-struck, at the little genius. “Here, kid, everything you can use on the arm’s on this tray.”

Peter shifted through it with one hand before finding what he was looking for, turning back to Bucky. “Well, not really. They have their flaws, but they’re old. The prequels are only amazing because of Padme, and I will die on that hill.”

“I… okay?”

“I’ll teach you,” Peter offered, twisting Bucky’s arm slightly for a better view. “Or, well, I can let you borrow the movies. You have to be very careful with them, though. They’re really important to me, and there isn’t a way to replace them.” The movies could have easily been replaced, but they were a gift from May and Ben. There was still a little dent on the side of the box that held all the prequel DVDs together from May fighting off a crazy lady for them during a Black Friday sale. There was a chip in the one DVD case—episode IV, Peter thinks, because he couldn’t remember off the top of his head—from Ben accidentally sitting on it and frantically trying to fix it. Peter had assured him it was okay a million times, that it didn’t matter because the DVD itself was pristine, yet Ben was still riddled with guilt. The DVDs meant more to Peter than anyone could ever know.

“You have my word, kid.”

“And I expect a five-page essay on why Padme Amidala deserved better.”

“I… don’t think I’ve written an essay in decades, kid.”

“Well, maybe I’ll just quiz you instead. So pay attention to Padme.”

“Okay.”

Nat and Steve both chuckled, though they soon stopped in disbelief as Peter pulled away and stood up, placing his tools back on the tray and wiping his hands nervously on his jeans. “All fixed,” he said casually. There was no pride, no brag, no snark in his tone--the kid just smiled at Bucky and watched him flex. “Does that feel okay, Sergeant Barnes? I could probably make another adjustment if it doesn’t feel okay. You might want to let Dr. Stark double check it, though. He’s the genius here.”

Happy with his arm, Bucky looked at Peter with wonder, unable to comment on his arm when another problem rose. “Why do you downplay your accomplishments?”

Peter’s cheeks went red. “I don’t! I just--I don’t hold a PhD or whatever, but--”

“Stark is a genius,” Bucky said. “That’s a fact. But you being smart doesn’t negate his brilliance. If you’d like Dr. Stark’s approval, I’d be more than happy to have him check it out.” For Peter’s sake, Bucky extended his arm towards Tony and gave him a pleading gaze.

Whale Tony relished in not having to deal with Barnes, he wanted to be good towards Peter--he grabbed the metal arm carefully to inspect Peter’s work and looked up with a shocked face. “Peter,” he said seriously, “this is some really clean work. How on earth--Tin Man’s right. Don’t downplay your accomplishments, kid.”

Peter said nothing, which gave Tony a chance to put distance between himself and Bucky, moving quickly before Steve or Natasha could say anything further. “Well,” Tony continued, “since that’s all settled, I’m going to show Peter around the penthouse before the meeting. I’ll meet everyone in the conference room.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Natasha told Peter, holding out a hand. “Thanks for helping Cap’s pain in the ass.”

“Language,” Steve argued as Peter shook Nat’s hand. “That’s a minor. But thank you for your hard work, Peter. Feel free to stop by during the week, it was nice to meet you.” Steve mirrored them, offering a handshake as well. Peter would have never thought in a million years he would be meeting the Avengers and helping them, getting to shake their hands. He felt useful. This wasn’t a pity-handshake, but a holy-shit-you-helped-us handshake, and it meant so much more. 

“Thank you, Miss Romanoff. Captain. I hope your arm feels better, Sergeant Barnes!” 

The elevator ride up was silent, though not uncomfortable. Peter was still thriving off of his validation and the excitement of meeting three other heroes. It gave Tony time to run through the tour in his head, rehearsing almost, running through different things to say in his head and how to be everything Howard Stark was not.

He could do this. For Pepper. Easy.

“Alright, underoos,” Tony said once they stepped off the elevator and into the beautiful penthouse. It almost felt like he was performing, or maybe hosting an interview. Way out of his comfort zone. “Let me show you around. Nothing is really off limits, but I don’t want to throw you blindly into a new environment and leave you for a meeting. Probably not nice to do.”

“I’d manage,” Peter muttered shyly, mostly to himself. It was nothing against Dr. Stark--Peter just understood that sometimes, adults had better things to do than run after teenagers that weren’t theirs.

First up was the kitchen. “Feel free to eat anything in the fridge. Pepper said you love blueberries, so I grabbed some for you. Dishwasher, stove, microwave… honestly the organization of the pantry isn’t the best. Everything is fair game.”

“It’s really nice,” Peter complimented.

“Thanks, kiddo. Now, the living room…” Tony led him back the way they came, effortlessly since everything was an open concept. “Here ya go. TV’s there, and here are a million takeout menus. Seriously, kid, feel free to order anything. Or have FRIDAY order it for you, she’ll just put it on my tab, so it’s all good.”

Tony showed him the guest room with the wave of his hand, then elected to shove both hands in his pockets to keep from making dumb gestures. “Here ya go, underoos,” he said, taking a few steps to allow Peter to do the same and explore. “You can put anything you want in the closet. Maybe we’ll get you a few outfits to keep here, too, so you don’t have to keep packing a bag whenever this happens. Oh! And FRIDAY, you remember how to use her? Anything you want for the room, go ahead and order it. Make this space yours.”

Peter set his bag down gently and crossed his arms, but it looked more like he was trying to hug himself. He rubbed his arms to bring a sense of comfort, anything, in this strange new situation. “It’s only my room until Wednesday, Dr. Stark, I wouldn’t want to waste money for that. I have everything.”

Tony wasn’t sure how to be sentimental without Pepper here, because he didn’t know where the line was. He was terrible with boundaries. He was going into this blind, but he couldn’t stop now. “Uh, well… yes. This time. But also…” Tony sighed. “Okay, Pete, I’m terrible with emotions so hear me out. I love Pepper. We’re very serious. You’re also a huge part of her life, and I’m not going to push you aside and pretend you aren’t. So like it or not, you’re officially part of the family, and you deserve to have a space in this tower. This is no longer a guest room. This is your room, and you’re welcome here whenever. Okay?”

Peter nodded, jaw tight and eyes glossier than before. 

“Please don’t cry, Pepper probably has FRIDAY sending updates and I don’t want her to think I’ve failed already.”

“I’ll make sure Pepper knows they’re good tears,” Peter said, though he quickly wiped at his eyes and turned away from him. “Thanks, Dr. Stark. It means a lot, really.”

Tony nodded, watching Peter try to compose himself. “And one more thing, underoos. Call me Tony.”


End file.
